The Pente Force Chronicles: Mind Games is out! Five years after killing her friend Tessa in self-defense, Star is guilted into a dangerous mission by Tessa’s father to travel to the enemy-occupied planet, Dyanzia.  

The mission:  to bring back someone infected with the same mind control device Tessa had.  

Accompanying Star is Tessa’s younger sister Brianna who has not forgiven Star.  As the two soldiers try to find a way to work together, they discover there is much more than mind-controlled Dyanzians on the planet.  

Only $1.99! https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08694R738#ace-0160871354

Uthar

 

by Ann Marie R. Harvie

The day I met my new best friend started much like any other. I rolled out of bed, jumped from the shower into my clothes and nearly burned myself as I quickly filled my travel mug with coffee and ran out the door.

After screeching into the office parking lot on two wheels, I barely made it to my desk on time. Just as I put down my backpack, my boss strolled over to let me know I had a meeting with an important client at 12:30 p.m., cutting my lunch hour in half. I smiled and nodded, but when he left, I rolled my eyes. Darn! I had a lunch date with a guy I met while I was grocery shopping last night. He was handsome and seemed like he had a great personality. I wanted to get to know him better. But not this afternoon I sighed to myself as I dialed his number. However, my heart skipped a beat when I heard his silky, baritone voice suggest drinks after work. Maybe the day would be so bad after all!

My morning was productive but uneventful. My growling stomach told me it was time for lunch. The fact that my lunch bag what not sitting beside me because of the canceled lunch date reminded me that I didn’t bring anything. Not wanting my stomach to be a third party in my important client meeting, I ran down the street to the supermarket Sushi bar. Certainly not high-end, but fresh. I realized I was running out of time, so I clumsily ate my sushi as I walked. I was only halfway through with my lunch when I realized that I would have to run to make my meeting on time. I spotted an adorable grey cat sitting on top of small historical shrine situated between high rises just ahead of me. I take my left over raw salmon and I placed it on the shrine in front of the cat. “Today’s your lucky day, Kitty,” I said.

I gave him a quick pat on the head before depositing my container in the trash and sprinted back to the office.

As I opened the door to the office building, I stopped short when I saw the cat in front of me. “Do you know I’ve been sitting on that stupid shrine for 200 years waiting for someone to bring me an offering,” it said.

My eyes went wide. What was in that sushi?! I didn’t have time for hallucinations. Not really believing I just heard a cat talk, I gently nudged him away from the front door with my foot so I could open the door. “That’s all I have, Kitty,” I said as I hurried back to my desk.

I grabbed my folder with the project status report and hurried to the conference room where I was supposed to have a one on one with my client. When I got there, the client had not yet arrived – but my furry friend did.

“Ugh! Who let you in, Kitty?” I asked as I rushed to pick him up. “You can’t be in here. My client will be here any minute.”

As I looked around the room frantically for a window to put the cat out – we were on the first floor and only a foot or so from the ground – the cat spoke again. “My name is not Kitty,” he said with a touch of annoyance in his male voice. “I am not a cat. I am a God. My name is Uthar.”

I placed the cat down on the conference table and I plopped myself down in a chair in front of him, still not believing he was talking. “That sushi wasn’t as fresh and I thought it was,” I said to myself.

“I’ve been waiting 200 years…”

I cut the god off. “Yes, yes so you’ve said. Look I have an important meeting…”

The god then cut me off. “A god has decided to befriend you, and you tell him you have a meeting?”

I eyed the little furball. He was adorable. The apartment was lonely with just me, so I decided either way he was coming home. “A god, huh? Why would a god want to befriend me?”

Uthar swished his tail. “I had been cursed to sit on that shrine until someone made an offering to me. In all this time, I’ve been petted, teased, tortured and have had food thrown at me. But no one ever offered me food in kindness until today. You have freed me from my shrine and I will reward you with friendship.”

Stilling thinking I was having some psychotic break, I said, “Well, you’re welcome. You don’t have to of anything for me. Your gratitude is enough.”

“Oh, come now, I am a very beneficial friend.”

Before I could argue further, my client knocked on the door. Uthar jumped off the table and hid under the far end. “Thank you!” I whispered as I opened the door.

To my surprise, the meeting went well. The client was happy with the progress I was making designing his storefront and said if I kept up the good work, I would get a bonus.

I left the conference room with my new cat in my arms and hid him under the desk, offering him water until I got home. Uthar sure enjoyed tuna fish and milk for a non-cat. As I got ready for my date, I asked Uthar which dress he liked better. “The red one,” he said between mouthfuls. “I don’t see why you are leaving to be with a mortal when you can spend your time with a god.”

“Humans want human contact,” I explained while I put on my make up. “Although I love that I have a talking cat.”

“I am not a cat.”

As I patted Uthar on the head, the doorbell rang. I opened the door and my date walked through.

Uthar reacted, and not in a good way.

My non-cat cat’s back went up and his hair stood on end. His big, blue eyes narrowed into slits and he bared his teeth as he let out a mighty hiss. My date took a step back and gave out a little laugh. “Whoa, Kitty! Calm down. What a tiger!”

I eyed Uthar and told to behave himself as I left with my date.

Worst date ever.

I couldn’t get home fast enough. Just as my new cat could magically talk, my date magically grew extra hands, or at least it seemed that way. After threats of assault charges, he apologized for grabbing and groping me and offered to take me home.

I stupidly accepted. Once home, I tried to close the door, but my date was right behind me and forced himself inside. He grabbed me, but I got away. I ran to the other side of my small, open concept apartment. I rushed past Uthar, who laid on the kitchen table. As soon as he saw me, he jumped up and resumed his protective, threatening stance. My date stopped advancing and regarded Uthar with a laugh. “Are you kidding me? Your killer cat is going to try to save you? I don’t think so.”

Uthar hissed once more, but it seemed much louder and more guttural than before. I eyed my cat. His teeth seemed way bigger than I remembered them earlier. Actually, he seemed a lot bigger.

Right in front of my eyes, my sweet grey kitty morphed into an obscenely large grey wolf. His pretty blue eyes were blood red, and one of his fangs were the length of my hand from fingertip to wrist.

My date also noticed the change. The color left his face as he fell over himself trying to get out of my apartment. Uthar bit his backside and tore a large hole in my date’s pants as a personal memento of the evening.

Once the real monster was out of the apartment, Uthar changed back into the small grey cat. That was it – I was convinced. My new cat, my new best friend, was really a god. I stood staring at him while he cleaned his faced with his paws. After a while I said. “Wow. Thanks, Uthar.”

He stopped cleaning himself and regarded me. “I am Uthar, God of Battle,” he bellowed. And then added matter-of-factly, “I told you I wasn’t a cat.”

And so began our life-long friendship. I’ve got to stay, it’s nice having a God as a BFF.

End.

Copyright 2017 Out of this World Publishing.  Photo courtesy of pixabay

Odin – King of the Puppy Pirates

 

By Ann Marie R. Harvie

Odin raised his muzzle in the air and closed his eyes.  He could feel the warmth of the morning sun on his face and smell the sweet, salty water just a few feet away. His puppy ears perked up at the sound of the lapping waves and his tongue fell out of his mouth in a pant, catching salty drops of sea foam flung ashore by the waves.

The puppy pirate king could only enjoy the peaceful morning on the beach for a minute.  Soon he and his band of puppy pirates would board their ship, “The Barking Bone” and chase after greedy King Merrick.  The king and his men had cruised along Odin’s shore earlier that morning, shortly after the puppy pirates dug up their secret, locked treasure chest of puppy treats.   The king must have seen the treasure chest and thought it was filled with silly human treasure.  The German Shepherd snorted at the thought as he started towards the ship.  Why would anyone want gold?  It didn’t smell good and it tasted worse!

Odin quickened his pace when he saw his mates – Dachshunds Klaus and Marley, Bull Dog Otis, Poodle Kip and mixed breeds Coco and Rue – were all ready to go.

Otis barked at the playing puppies that were nipping at each other’s ears on deck.  “Straighten up you scurvy swabs, here come the Captain!”

Otis always showed Odin great respect.  He was the pirate king’s first mate and best friend.  He kept the other puppies in line.  Soon the other puppies stopped playing and took their places on the ship.  “Okay, Mateys,” barked Odin loudly.  “The sooner we get back our treasure, the sooner we can get back to chewing the roots on the palm trees!”

Odin’s band of puppy pirates howled in unison before Coco and Rue hoisted the anchor by pulling on the rope with their puppy teeth.  Klaus and Marley used their teeth and paws to hoist the sails, and Odin jumped up on his hind legs and placed his big paws on the big wheel to steer the ship.

King Merrick and his men had not gotten far.  The “Barking Bone” was a smaller, faster ship and it didn’t take Odin long to find the greedy king.   Odin’s pirate ship was so small, it didn’t seem as though the king and his men noticed they were being pursued and didn’t seem to be in a great hurry to get back to their kingdom.

As the “Barking Bone” got closer, Odin could hear the king’s crew laughing and singing on the deck of the large ship.  The king’s men were so occupied with their celebration, they didn’t see the little pirate ship pull alongside them.  Odin craned his neck and could see the treasure chest glinting in the sunlight high on the quarter deck of the ship, pretty close to where the “Barking Bone” was positioned.  Odin scanned the larger ship and noticed that some of the port holes were open on the lower levels. 

The pirate puppy king had an idea.  He gave Otis the helm while he and the other puppies snuck on board King Merrick’s ship through one of the open portholes.  Once on board, the puppies whimpered at the horrible smell of dirty feet that hung in the air of the larger ship.  Odin hushed them, although his eyes watered too, and with wrinkled noses on their muzzles, they pattered their way up the stairs towards the deck.   Odin jumped up and opened the door latch with his paws.  He nosed the door open just a crack so he could see what the humans were doing.  He counted ten men on deck singing and dancing.  His puppy tail wagged.  He wanted to play, too!  But then he remembered why they were there and focused on the treasure chest.  The king was not on the deck.  The treasure chest lay all alone on the quarter deck. 

Odin turned to his pirate puppy pals.  “Rue, Coco and I will distract the king’s men by playing with them,” he said.  “Marley, Klaus and Kip will run up to the quarter deck and push the treasure onto the deck of the ‘Barking Bone.’  Then you should jump onto the ship, too.  As soon as we see you leave the ship, we’ll leave, too.”

Kip began to whine a little.  “What if they catch us?”  he yelped.

Odin shook his head.  “We are very cute.  They will want to play with us.  We will keep them busy, don’t worry.”

The puppy pirate king, Coco and Rue padded out onto the deck.  One of the King’s men played an accordion while the others danced.  Odin and part of his band walked into the middle of the festivities and wagged their cute puppy tails.  One thing the crafty puppy pirate knew – no human  could resist the charms of a cute puppy.

The music and dancing stopped when the men saw the puppies.  Odin gave out a small bark, wagged his tail, sat down and waited.  Soon the air was filled with ooohs and awwws over the cute puppies.  One of the men bent over Odin and asked where he came from.  The puppy pirate panted and got up on his hind legs and begged for a treat.  This simple trick sent roars of laughter and calls for bits of meat to be given to the Shepherd.  Rue and Coco also got on their hind legs and tried to be as cute as they could.  The king’s men delighted in petting the puppies and scratching behind their ears.

During the commotion, Odin saw the other puppies sneak their way up to the quarter deck.  As he twirled around on his hind legs, pretending to look at the dangling piece of bacon inches from his nose, he watched as Marley, Klaus and Kip pushed with all their might until the chest disappeared off of the ship.  Odin and the other puppies barked and howled to cover up the “thunk” noise of the treasure chest hitting the “Barking Bone’s” deck.  Soon, Kip, Marley and Klaus disappeared as well.  Odin panted with delight at the King’s unsuspecting men.  Soon they would run away and disappear into the bowels of the ship and make a clean get away.

Suddenly, King  Merrick’s cabin door slammed open, revealing an angry monarch filling the doorway.  “What is all the racket?” he demanded. 

The men fell silent.  Odin and the puppies stopped doing tricks and sat.  “Look, Sir!” said the first mate.  “Puppies.  We don’t know where they came from, they just appeared and started doing tricks.”

The king glared at Odin, who now stood and defiantly stared back.  The king’s eyes then went to the quarter deck.  They went wide when he saw that the chest was missing.  The king’s head whipped from one side of the ship to the other as if he were looking for something.  Odin noticed he never looked down to the sea to discover the puppy pirate ship.  King Merrick pointed to the puppies.  “The treasure!  It’s been taken!  These puppies were a distraction.  Devil Dogs!  Get them!”

Odin turned to Rue and Coco and barked.  “Go now!”

Coco shook her head.  “We’re not leaving you!” she barked.

Odin growled and then barked again.  “Do as I say.  I will handle the stinky human king.  Go now!  I will be with your shortly.”

Rue and Coco reluctantly ran past the king’s men who were trying to catch them.  They jumped overboard to their waiting  pirate puppy ship.  With all his crew and their treasure safely aboard the “Barking Bone,” Odin could turn his attention to the king.  He had to act quickly.  He dodged past the king’s men who desperately tried to capture him.  Just as he was about to jump ship himself, he felt a hand grab his collar and pull him back onto the ship.  The hand belonged to the king.  Odin yelped in surprise and nipped at the king’s hand.  The king let out a small cry and let Odin go.  Odin ran to the quarter deck, followed closely by the king.  Odin needed a distraction.  There were too many men.  He spied the king’s long waist coat and had an idea.

The king was the closest to him now.  Odin back up to the edge of the deck and began to whimper, pretending to be trapped.  “I have you now, Devil Dog!” yelled the angry king.  He lunged for Odin who dodged past him.  The king lost his footing and nearly fell overboard.  Odin used his big, German Shepherd puppy paws to help him over the edge.

Shouts of protest and screams came from the king’s men.  That got their attention, thought Odin.  He ran to the other side of the deck where his pirate ship waited.  Odin turned back to see the king’s men try to fish the king out of the sea.  They had forgotten all about Odin and his band of puppies, but most importantly they forgot about the treasure.  The pirate puppy king wanted to let out a howl of victory, but decided against it.  He jumped off the king’s ship and onto his own. The “Barking Bone” quickly sailed back to the puppies’ island.

Once they got off the ship, the puppies dug a deep hole just at the edge of the beach where the sand met the delicious palm trees.  Soon the treasure would be safe again, but Odin decided their adventure and victory merited a reward.  He placed his paw in the lock that matched his pads and pushed.  The lock clicked and the top sprang open to reveal various arrays of puppy treats they had gotten from admiring humans from different lands.  “Take one treat each, lad.  You deserve it!” barked Odin after taking his own tasty treat. 

The band of pirate puppies yipped in excitement and each took a piece of puppy treasure before Odin locked the chest back up.  The chest was pushed into the deep hole and covered with sand by powerful puppy paws.  Smelly King Merrick would never get his nasty-tasting hands on Odin’s treasure again.  That night the puppies dreamt of their treasure and the future adventures that awaited them.

 

End.

My series is now featured on Channillo.com!

I was offered an opportunity to feature my Pente Force Chronicle series on Channillo.com and I accepted.  Channillo.com is a literary subscription service.  My series can be found here: 

http://channillo.com/series/pente-force-chronicles/

The stories that I feature here on this blog are mostly back stories or "prequels."  The stories on Channillo will be about the Pente Force and their friends as young adults.  If you decide to give the series on Channillo.com a try, let me know what you think!  I also have stories different than the Channillo stories on Scriggler.com.  Scriggler is a free service, so all you'd need to do to read those stories is search my name or the Pente Force Chronicles.

What I should have said, but didn't

Today I attended a service at the Masonic Temple in Nashua, NH to say goodbye to a dear friend I’ve known most of my adult life. During this beautiful service that was packed with family and friends, many people got up and told a story about Sue. Some were quite funny, many were inspirational. I did not get up to speak. Many may be surprised, but I can't speak when I am sad. Today I was heartbroken. Even if I could speak, so many wonderful memories of Sue spun in my head so fast, I wouldn't have been able to catch one if I could. 

Working with Sue was not only an everyday life lesson, it was often a lot of fun. The “bulk mail parties” at our enormous wooden table, lunchtime talks over Greek salads at our favorite Greek Restaurant, Andros, the Public Hearings, the bowling matches, Founders Days, Christmas parties, the Changes of Command – all of it. So many wonderful memories and learning experiences!  She was a great, strong lady who would do anything for anyone.

If I could have found my voice today, I would have told her family that not a day went by when Sue would talk about  them. All of their accomplishments or just a mention of their names if even if nothing was going on. She loved them all so very much and she was enormously proud of each of them and said so every day. 

Sue was there for many of the important moments in my life. She attended my wedding shower and my wedding. She came to my baby shower and came to my house to visit me when I had Rachel. I still have the cap and gown Teddy Bear that she gave me when I graduated college. And oh by the way, she made me go to college and was there waiting for my grades at the end of every semester. Failure was never an option – it was good grades or else!  So many more moments than there is space to write. Suffice to say she was a very important part of my life. 

I didn't stand up today and tell a story. Not because I didn't love her, but because I did love her. So much so words could not be found to express it. I know she understands and hop that everyone else does too. 

A story inspired by a visual prompt

Dragon Catchers

By Ann Marie R. Harvie

Nine gaped at the giant, winged creature flying towards his single person space fighter.  “That’s a dragon?” 

The calm voice of his teammate Osto echoed in his headset.  “Yep, that’s a dragon.”

​

Although he was still a good distance away, Nine could see the 50-foot dragon begin to fill his cockpit window.  It’s leathery, bat-like wings flapped furiously in pursuit of its dinner.  The sun hid behind thick, rolling clouds, but he could see the shine of the beast’s brown scales as it came right for him.  And those teeth – Nine wasn’t expecting such large, pointy teeth.

​

Nine banked a hard left as soon as the dragon got too close.  The instruments in the cockpit flashed several different colors.  Alarms began to sound.  The special forces pilot was used to a state-of-the-art, five- person warship.  Unfortunately, his ship would be too large for the dragon to want to eat.    Maldar’s Royal Air Force gave him one of their smallest spacecraft.  Nine soon discovered they lent him a piece of junk.   

The dragon swung around and was right on Nine’s tail.  “Are you ready?” he asked anxiously as he flipped several switches to recalculate his radar. 

“Almost,” replied Osto.

​

The mission seemed straight-forward enough – capture the dragon the Wardon Empire sent to terrorize the floating Kingdom of Maldar.  Now as Nine tried to dodge the giant reptile, it all seemed decidedly less straight-forward. Osto would be flying above the kingdom with the net cannon.  Nine drew the short-straw when he agreed to be the bait.

He dipped the fighter down into the mist and banked left to try to lose the monster.  He caught a slight glimpse of the creature’s yellow eyes and gnashing teeth.  His blood ran cold.  The thick metal of the cockpit and the protection of his helmet could not completely shut out the dragon’s high-pitched screech as it protested angrily about missing the kill.

​

Nine zigzagged his fighter towards the Maldarian Kingdom.  The white marble structures with various black peaks and roofs sat situated on a large island that floated above a mistyabyss protected from enemies.  Unfortunately, this enemy came in the form of a dragon.  The beast had done considerable damage to the structures, not to mention the population.  Nine’sattention turned back to the advancing dragon.  His cheeks burned with anger.  The dragon was not supposed to be able to outrun the fighter.  Another lie told by the Maldarian Air Force.  Nine swore under his breath.  What else did they lie about?  “Ready or not, we’re coming in!”  he yelled into his communicator to his teammate.

​

“Acknowledged.  The cannon and I are in place,” said Osto.

​As Nine reached for the thruster, he felt an impact and a shudder come from behind the fighter.  The dragon had the tail of the fighter in his teeth.  “Oh come on!” Nine shouted in frustration.

​

He flew in jerking motions to try to free the fighter fromthe dragon’s mouth.  Osto’s voice came over the speaker in his helmet.  “Nine, what’s going on?  My scanners indicate erratic movement.”

Nine’s temper flared.  “That’s because the dragon is eating me!”

Osto’s voice indicated his annoyance.  “I can’t get a lock on the dragon when you fly like that.  Stop fooling around and get over here.”

Nine shut off his communicator and a flurry of swears left his lips as he continued to try to shake off the dragon.  The instruments beeped furiously.   The damage to the tail increased.  He had no other choice.  He reached for the thruster lever and pulled back as hard as he could.

Fire spat from the back of the fighter and burned the dragon.  It screeched in pain and finally let go.  It dipped down into the mist and disappeared from sight. Nine kept the thrusters on and headed straight for Osto’s position.

As Nine expected, the dragon reappeared on his radar and once again rapidly approached the rear of the fighter.  Nine frantically scanned the area for Osto.  He found him on the floating, single-stand cannon.  The barrel of the cannon pointed in Nine’s direction.

Nine turned his communicator back on.  He lowered the nose of the fighter slightly to align exactly with the cannon.  “I’m in position,” he said.

“Understood.  Pull up on my mark.”

Nine could hear the dragon screeching angrily behind him.  The sound seemed laced with pain and fury now.  Osto’s voice snapped him to attention.  “One.  Two.  Three.  Now!”

The special force’s pilot pulled on the controls as hard as he could.  Before his cockpit windows filled with clouds, he saw a giant net shoot out of the barrel of the cannon.  He leveled out the fighter and hovered over the kingdom to assess the situation.  Osto netted the dragon and safely lowered it into a field inside Maldar’s marble walls.  Dozens of Maldarians shot tranquilizers into the dragon.  It lay still soon after being struck by the tranquilizers.

“Great job, Nine,” said Osto.  “The scientists will take him back, study him and set him free on one of the nearby uninhabited planets.”

Nine breathed a sigh of relief that the whole thing was over.  “Nine the Dragon Catcher,” he said with a slight laugh as he turned his fighter back to base.  “I kind of like the sound of that.”

 

 

Life after NaNoWriMo and oh yes, it's the holiday season

The NANoWriMo challenge.

As a crazy busy mom, I rarely have time to do things for myself. However in the last couple of months I’ve joined a writing collaborative and have started editing my book that I've been trying to get ready to publish for the last eight years. November is National Novel Writing Month or NaNoWriMo. It's a challenge for writers – writ 50,000 words in 30 days. When the Collaborative talked about it, I was intrigued. Somehow it became a full blown commitment. I had no idea how I was going to pull this off. The website suggested 1,600 words a day.  I wondered how I was going to string two sentences together. Time didn't allow for my first, usual written draft, so I sat in front of a blank screen for a couple of minutes waiting for inspiration to strike. And it did – I found myself writing 2,000-3,000 words a day. Although the website suggested writing more on the weekend, I could not double my count as others could because, well, crazy busy. But I stayed committed and I managed to write over 51,300 in 20 days. 

Committing to something so time-consuming meant something had to be put on the back burner. The casualty was, unfortunately, my blog. I kept thinking that I needed to do that t and so many topics have come and gone, but there just was no time. And the time that I had, I was still trying to recharge. 

The Holidays and the Elves on the Shelf.

Immediately after winning the NaNoWriMo challenge, my family had to deal with Thanksgiving and my most favorite  Black Friday! My husband takes complete charge over the Thanksgiving meal – soup to nuts if you will – and he does an amazing job. The turkey was cooked to perfection and all the sides were done on time to accompany the meal.  My job is to set the table, put the leftovers away and help with the dishes. 

After the meal, my mother and I plan our strategy for Black Friday. In Massachusetts, stores are not allowed to open until Midnight Friday night. My mother and I cut a piece of pie and go over all the circulars that come in the newspaper (yes, I still get the weekend editions). We circle the things we want, put the circulars in order of the planned visit based on what time the stores open and tally up the estimated cost. Once that’s done, we head to bed to get some rest before we go out for the Midnight sales. You can get many of the same deals online nowadays, but to be honest, I like the adventure. I like being out with other like-minded crazies such as myself and I enjoy reveling in the great deals the I get. I like to touch things and see them before I buy.  It's something that my mother and I look forward to all year. This year we shopped for 10 straight hours. In that time I got most of the items on my list and a decent amount of my Christmas shopping done. All in all, another great success!

In my house, Black Friday also brings an event that my children look forward to all year – the Elves on the Shelf. This year our elf Max brought his sister Emily for my daughter, who wished for her own this year. I have to admit, after coming off the creative drain of NaNoWriMo, it was very difficult to find new and creative things for the elves to do this year. They were definitely not as mischievous as they had been in past years, but the job got done. When they finally leave (mine are here until New Year’s Eve), they leave the kids photo albums of their adventures over the past month. There is much debate and controversy about the elves. Some parents hate them, others believe that they bring a little extra Christmas magic into the house. I am one of the latter, although I do respect other parents’ decision to not do it. What makes me mad is when people judge or criticize those parents that do.  As I have said before, children do not come with owner’s manuals and we are all doing the best we can. 

The holidays pose a challenge for crazy busy parents such as myself. When you’re running around with the kids every night after working all day, when is there time to shop?  I had to get creative. I had to look at the sales circulars in advance and plot short shopping trips in between the commute home and picking up the kids from extended day. It wasn't easy and I was shopping right up until the day before Christmas Eve, but I got it done. And we managed to squeeze in a 75th birthday party for my father, two ice skating competitions and two performances of a middle school musical for my daughter. 

Losses at during the holidays.

Losing people any time of the year is tough. It is especially difficult during the holidays. I lost a friend who died of her injuries from a car accident on December 12. In addition, my aunt had a medical emergency and is currently on life support with a grim outlook. It is very hard not to crawl into bed and stay there for a few days. But crazy busy parents typically don't get that luxury. We try to put on a happy face for the kids, even though our hearts are breaking, and try to get through the grief as best we can. Sometimes when I need to cry, I'll lock myself in the bathroom for a couple of minutes so I can get it together. I think it's important to grieve, so I give myself that couple of minutes out of sight of the kids. 

New Year’s Resolutions.

Every year I make resolutions and every year I fail at achieving them. This year I resolved to:

Lose weight.

Pay debt.

Read more.

Write more.

Get healthy.

Do more with the new publishing company

Get at least one story copywritten this year.

Clean my office

I didn't lose weight, but I joined a karate class and see a nutritionist. I made payments to my credit card, but did not pay it off. I did not read more. I definitely wrote more. I didn't do as much with my new publishing company, but I have been going to entrepreneurs’ meetings, set up my own website and linked to this blog. I did not get any of my stories copy written this year. I did clean my office, but messed it up again.  So, overall not a success, but not a complete failure either. I am going to keep the same goals and try again. 

I wish my readers the very happiest of holidays and a Happy New Year!

The birthday party

It used to be when my kids were younger, I would just call the popular birthday party venue in town and set up a time. For the past two years my daughter has been wanting sleepovers for her birthday. While it costs much less than the venue parties, it requires a lot more time and planning. It didn't help that this year I didn't realize that I hadn't planned anything two weeks before her big day. It's not that I completely forgot -- I've been buying my daughter this and that to put in her birthday bag for weeks – but planning for the party just completely slipped my mind. Initially I stressed a little—how was I going to do this on such short notice?  What was I going to do with the girls all afternoon and evening?  The answers came pretty quickly once I remembered that I was going to have to have a family party as well. 

I looked up what movies were playing that weekend and found one that was just opening that none of the girls would have seen yet. I told my daughter to name five friends she wanted over for the evening(last year she had 10 and my mother and I barely survived). Once we had the list, we decided on a Halloween party theme. To be honest, this was a little lazy on my part. We had a Halloween themed party last year, but the clock was ticking, my daughter would always be an October baby and the kids were still at an age where they still liked to dress up.  She also wanted a piñata, which was fine. So the plan was in place – the big family party would be at the house with the relatives and sleepover friends,  then after the family left, my husband and I would take the girls and my son to see Hotel Transylvania 2. 

Now what to do at the party?  Pumpkin decorating made sense and my local Stop and Shop had the mini pumpkins on sale for $1 each. I bought some black pipe cleaners, foam stickers and markers to decorate them. I decided that the kids could also decorate wood picture frames with most of the same materials.  I had a 20% off coupon at Michael’s, and at $1 before the discount I had another decently priced craft. I decided  I would take their pictures with a  spooky background, then  I would run upstairs during the party and print them out. The kids would put their pictures in their frames and that would not only make a fun memory of the evening, it would be a time killing craft AND part of their goodie bag. I went to my local BJ’s warehouse and bought one of the big bag of candies that I had a coupon for and used that candy to not only stuff the piñata, but also to stuff the goodie bags. I went to the local Dollar Store and picked up all the haunted house decorations and all the paper and plastic goods I would need for the party. I also got lip gloss for the girls’ goodie bags and glowing swords for the boys. Never underestimate the worth of your local Dollar Store!

I ordered the cake at my local Stop and Shop as well as a cold cut platter. They have done our cakes before and I knew if I told them that I wanted a Halloween-themed cake they would do a great job. If I had more time, I would have just ordered some meat and put it all together myself, because it was so expensive, but I knew I wouldn't be able to with all the other stuff that was going on. More on that later. 

The invitations went out, everyone RSPVP’d without me having to chase them down (a birthday miracle!) and we were good to go. 

Just when I thought I had everything under control, my husband informed me that he and my son had a Bot Scout commitment the morning of the party. I thought, “okay, no problem. We have our normal stuff in the morning. It will be tight, but we can make it work.”  And then the other birthday invitation came from my son’s best friend. His party was on the same day as my daughter’s but earlier in the day. This is where things began to get crazy – my son had to go to his best friend’s party. His best friend didn't have many friends invited  and If my son didn't go his day would be ruined. My husband and I came up with a plan that included the other party thanks to the flexibility of the mom. 

The big day came and we were off early to do all the normal Saturday things. My son had an early soccer game and then my daughter and I left his game for dance her dance lessons. After dance, we picked up the cake and cold cut platter. When we got home, the kids did a quick change out of their uniforms. My son went to his friend’s party for a while and my daughter went to her skating lesson. After that, it was a mad dash to get the rest of the food ready. I had decorated the day before as much as I could and finished the rest that afternoon. I put out crackers and (pre sliced) cheese, salsa and chips, cauliflower and carrots, salad (Dole’s Very Veggie salad bag with some cut up peppers), Strawberries and grapes and bowls of chips, corn curls and popcorn. My husband picked my son up from his friend’s party to rush to the Boy Scout event. By the time the first guest arrived for my daughters party, the house was ready, my husband and kids were in place and I was ready for a nap. 

The party went off well. The biggest hit was the piñata. Give a child a stick and tell them to destroy something and they will get candy for it and they’ll be all over it.  After killing the piñata, they decorated their pumpkins without throwing them at each other. After the sugar started kicking in, they were more than happy to decorate their frames and pose for pictures. The girls and my family screamed Happy Birthday to the delight of my daughter and the family left after cake and presents. 

It was off to the movies with two carloads of kids. We got them the big bucket of popcorn and took our seats.  I originally had planned for the girls to sit a row ahead of us so that they could enjoy the movie sans parents, but they wanted to sit with us so we took a row for ourselves.

 A quick word about “Hotel Transylvania 2” -- Go see it. I don't usually laugh at movies and I belly-laughed during parts of it. After the movie the girls were still hungry and raided the cabinets and fridge for whatever would satisfy the appetites of four tween girls. We also rolled out every blanket we had to go with the sleeping bags to ensure a comfortable night in the living room. After locking every door and window and setting the alarm to stay, my husband, son and I left the girls to entertain themselves. 

I counted heads in the morning before making breakfast. Some were up while a couple of others to include my daughter were still in dreamland. The smell of bacon, sausage, eggs, pancakes and cinnamon buns got them up and running to the breakfast table. The parents came on time to pick up their daughters and I was back in the in bed by 9:30 am. Another successful party in very little time and on a decent budget!

When the school “Lost” my child (one of the scariest times in my life)

I took the day off to prepare for my daughter's birthday party on Oct. 2  Her regular bus driver did not pick her up that day.  He told the kids in advance that someone else was going to come to get them. So when the other driver arrived 30 minutes late, I didn't think much of it. My husband called me at 9:30 am saying that the school called him with an automatic message saying that My daughter  was not in school -- more than an hour and a half since I put her on the bus myself.  Naturally I was concerned so I called the school to find out where my daughter was and left a message because God forbid anyone pick up a phone. Ten minutes later I received an auto email telling me that my daughter was not in school. No one called me to tell me she was safe. That's when I began to panic. As I started driving to the school, I called the Superintendent's office and left a message over there letting them know that I thought my daughter was missing and that no one from Her school was getting back to me.  So by the time I get to The school  I'm in a full fledge freak out. If I got to the school and my daughter wasn't there, I was going to call the police and then my family and organize a manhunt for the bus driver and my daughter. 

When I got to the office, there was the secretary just sitting there. I explained to her what was going on and she said, "oh yes. She's here."  When I demanded to know why no one called me back, she responded "well, there were sixty kids involved. I don't have time to contact 60 families."  

I was too angry for words. It took me a moment to be able to even speak in a civil tone. I told her to have the principal call me. I thought my head was going to explode I was so pissed. So bottom line:  the school mistakenly told me my daughter was missing and no one had the professional courtesy to call me to tell me it was a mistake. It was one of the scariest moments of my life. With all the bus accidents and all the kidnappings  that are going on it is inexcusable and irresponsible of them to do what they did. The system, in my opinion is broken and they need to fix it.

Hours later, the principal called me to apologize to me and explained that it wasn't a perfect system. No kidding – now stop using that as an excuse and fix it the problem. In addition, the Superintendent’s office never called me back. 

Crazy Busy Mom's Ham and Bow Tie Pasta

This is a one pot, oh so simple dish my family loves.   This is all you need:

Two ham steaks diced

One box of bow tie pasta

Half a small bag of frozen peas

One jar of Alfredo sauce

In a large pot, boil water. Add salt and a little bit of olive oil to the water. 

Add bow tie pasta and cook until nearly tender. Add peas and ham to the water before the pasta is done. 

Drain mixture and return to pot. 

Add Alfredo sauce. Mix well and heat through. 

Serves 4

Crazy Busy Mom's Beef Stew

You can either make this in an hour with a pressure cooker or let it go all day in a slow cooker. Preparation is quick and easy. Here's what you need:

At least one pound of stew beef

4 large potatoes cut up into small pieces

Half a bag of baby carrots

2 stalks of celery

3 cloves of garlic (to save even more time, get a jar of chopped garlic and add 2-3 teaspoons)

1 onion chopped

Two large cartons of beef broth

Cut the stew beef into small pieces and put them into the pot. Add all the other ingredients. Seasonings are not necessary as the broth will be salty enough. 

If you are using a pressure cooker, seal it up and let the stew run for about an hour. 

If you are using a slow cooker, cover it up and set on high for at least 6 hours. Serve with crusty bread or in a bread bowl. 

Serves 6

Crazy Busy Mom's Simple Calzones

My calzones consist of cold cuts and cheese, but really you can put in any filling you want. Here's what you need to make mine:

Pizza dough from the grocery store 

Turkey

Salami

Ham

Corned beef

Cheddar or American cheese

Provolone cheese

Swiss cheese

Either melted butter or a beaten egg

Heat the oven to 375 and line a baking sheet with either parchment paper or aluminum foil. Spray the foil with Pam so the calzones don't stick. 

Generously sprinkle flour on a cutting board and a rolling pin to keep the dough from sticking. 

Cut the pizza dough into fours. Take one and set the other three aside. 

Roll out the dough so you get a reasonably large surface to put you meat on. 

Take one slice of you meat, then place a piece of cheese on top. Keep alternating your meat and cheesed until you've used one of each. 

Roll up the dough, tucking in the sides as you go.  Place the end in the bottom of the calzone and put on the baking sheet. Do this for the other three pieces. 

Take a little bit of melted butter and brush the calzones so they have a light coating. You can also spray them with a little Psm or neat an egg and brush that on top. Use whatever you have. 

Bake in the oven for about 35 minutes or until golden brown. Serves four. 

If you are going to substitute the cold cuts for say meatballs or something that has a sauce, you're going to need to work fast as the dough will get soggy and unmanageable quickly and may not get crispy on the outside. 

Back to School – a blessing for some, not so much for me

Many a parent pop the corks of champaign bottles when the kids go back to school. I’d be right there with them if it didn't signal the beginning of my super crazy season. My daughter just started Middle School and for the first time she’s taking the bus with all the neighborhood kids. She’s thrilled as she gets to connect with some of the kids that she’s been in classes with in the past, but not this year. They don't have before care in middle school, so the bus picks her up only a half hour later than we would have left for before care. Boy does that half hour count!  And we still run out the door with my son who is now in school across town from my daughter. So picking them both up on time from extended day after an hour and a half/two hour commute is a race against time. Still trying to get comfortable with that routine. 

Fall also brings on the full battery of activities that the kids are in.  I was THAT parent that swore the kids would only have one activity each. That proclamation died when they were old enough to have activities. My son is a Cub Scout (my husband is the Den leader), does karate and plays soccer twice a week . My daughter is a Girl Scout (I’m the leader), she skates twice a week, dances and does karate. AND she just sign up for running club and interactive writing right after school. Sunday is the only day I get to lay my head on my pillow for any significant amount of time. The lack of sleep and any personal time are a small sacrifice compared to the incredible people they are becoming. Programming everything into my smartphone is a complete must. I'm pretty confident that if Siri asked me for a raise I would give it to her. 

It seems that Fall also represents the barrage of fundraisers that have to be done at my house – my son has to sell trinkets for school and popcorn for Scouts.  My daughter needs to sell nuts and magazines for Girl Scouts. All come at the same time and many end at the same time. This is a little disconcerting for me as I need t go through everything and figure out what I want, then remember to fill out the slips and put them in the correct place. 

With the resumption of our crazy, busy schedule, I need to figure out and make dinners for the week. To save myself time and mental energy I may not have when it comes time to make supper, I plan my meals for the week and get all the ingredients at once so that everything is in the house when I need it. The dishes are typically not fancy, but they are quick. I will share them in separate posts so you can try them if you want to. 

Until next time, stay sane!

Review - Mythos Restaurant in the Islands of Adventure at Universal

 

This is a beautifully themed restaurant in Universal Studios Islands of Adventure. It looks as though you are eating in a brightly lit cavern. The tables and chairs were extremely elegant and piano music added to the atmosphere. You are definitely transported out of the park and into a fine restaurant.

Our server Gilley was friendly and prompt. When he bought our drinks, he also brought warm, crusty bread. We ordered the Asian Chicken off the salad menu to start things off. The salad, which is usually ordered as a meal served four of us as an appetizer. I loved the taste of the sesame dressing and the cashews gave the meal a nice crunch. It was a nice, light start to our lunch.

I ordered the salmon and asked for it well done and it came to the table perfectly cooked. The portion was smaller than I expected, but it was delicious. My daughter got the beef medallions. She said that her meal was tasty and cleaned her plate. My husband got Pad Thai. He said that although the flavored were different than he was used to, it was very good. My son had the standard chicken nugget fare. The prices of chicken were a good size and he finished them without complaint.

We don't usually get dessert, but we did today. I got the chocolate banana gooey cake, my daughter got the kids' banana split and my husband got the Creme brûlée. All the desserts were delicious and made a great ending to a great meal.

This establishment is a little pricy, but if you're able to splurge while you are on vacation I would recommend giving this a try.

Review - Lombard's Restaurant at Universal Studios

Lombard's is a nice fish Restaurant located in the Universal Studios Park. This is a spacious, clean, sit down place to eat. Alicia was our waitress. She was super nice and very professional. The menu had a variety of seafood, burgers and salads. The only sugar free item to drink is the unsweetened iced tea. Warm rolls and butter were served when we received our drinks. They were warm and delicious.  My husband got the shrimp cocktail and enjoyed it.  I got the salmon Cesar salad. The onion rings on top gave it a great crunch. The salmon was perfectly cooked. In short it was a great salad. My husband who got the chicken version agreed. My daughter got their Chinatown Noodle Bowl and it was absolutely delicious. The broth is full of flavor and had a good amount of noodles and veggies. My son got the kids chicken fingers and ate them up the portions are a good size. So much better than the typical amusement park fair. Highly recommended not only from me, but the entire family.

Review - T Rex Restaurant at Downtown Disney

 

Super fun place to go for a meal!  I can't even tell you how much we love this place. The decor is prehistoric Earth and the dinosaurs are all animated. Every 20 minutes or so there is a meteor shower.

Our waitress Dani was super friendly and got our drinks quickly. The food is pricy for adults -- most run $16 and up. The kids menu at the time of this review were $8.99. The adult drinks are good and strong.

I got the bronto burger, my daughter got the pasta, my son got the Mac and cheese and my husband got the pasta. The nachos we got as an appetizer were delicious. Although my husband said his pasta dish was too salty, the kids and I enjoyed our meals.

A couple of words or warning 1). Little children might be scared of the moving Dino's and/or the meteor shower, so keep that in mind. 2). This place is insanely popular. If you don't have a reservation, there is a really, really good chance that you will not get in. Plan as far in advance as you can. You will be really glad you did.

Review - Nine Dragons Restraurant

We came here for dinner at Epcot. This little place serves traditional Chinese Food. I got the shrimp fried rice and it was very bland. The pot stickers were good as was the spring roll. My husband and daughter enjoyed their Orange chicken so hit or miss I guess. The food is reasonably priced. Not much else to say.

Review - Flame Tree Grill at Disney's Animal Kingdom

We come to this restaurant every time we visit Animal Kingdom. They have a limited menu, mostly barbecue fare, but the sauce is flavorful and worth trying. We get the pulled pork sandwiches every time -- they're that good. Outdoor seating makes for a cool atmosphere. There is no table service, you order your food and carry it to an available table.

Review - Food at Splitsville in Downtown Disney

This is a little restaurant attached to the Splitsville Bowling Alley. There is both indoor and outdoor seating. We chose to eat outside. There is music that plays. It was a little loud for my taste, but the songs were good. Soon after we arrived they switched over to live music, which was very good. The waitress Kacie was super friendly and knowledgeable about the menu. We got our drinks quickly. Our calamari appetizer took a little while to come out. The calamari was crunchy and had a really flavorful sauce. I would order it again.

My daughter and I ordered the California Roll sushi. It was fresh and tasted good. I was surprised that a place like this had sushi, but the truth is they have a very large and varied menu. My husband got the pulled pork and my son got a cheese pizza. My son said he liked his pizza. There was nothing left of the pulled pork on my husband's plate.

Review - Dessert in France (well not really, but in Epoct anything is possible!)

For dessert we stopped into Boulangerie Patisserie at the French Pavilion  at Epcot's World Showcase.  In short, they have the best pastry  I've ever had. Most are around $4.50. The place is a good size sit here's lots of seating. I recommend getting your dessert here!  They also have mimosas if you feel inclined ( I was and it was delicious!).