Teaser Tuesday

Here are the rules:

1. Post 2 sentences from the current book you're reading. You can either

a) open the book and share 2 sentences from anywhere on that page or
b) share your favorite 2 senetnces from the book (they have to be in a row)

2. List the page #

*PLEASE DO NOT POST ANYTHING THAT CAN BE INTERPRETED AS A SPOILER!

3. List the name of the book and the author

"A sense of tranquility and serenity pervaded the ground and the air, the way an old-growth forest feels, the loamy soil rich and fecund with life. But beneath it all was a trace of something feral. And dead."

p. 33

Blood Cross by Faith Hunter (e- version)


Share your teasers in the comments or give a link to your blog if you're running a Teaser Tuesday.

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Friday Art & History Feature - Bob Ross



Bob Ross

  I remember watching Bob Ross half-hour painting specials when I was in junior high school and high school. I've always been interested in art and have been painting watercolors since I was about seven or eight. The magic of Bob Ross finishing beautiful oil landscapes in meager half hour. I was absolutely fascinated.
Recently, I found out that my husband also loved watching the Bob Ross show and we both held our breath every time Bob made a "happy little mistake" and then all of a sudden it turned into a cloud, a lake or a few trees.

Bob Ross was born in 1942 in Florida. He was an artist and an instructor, hosting the Joy of Painting show for 12 years on PBS. In his earlier years, Bob enlisted in Air Force at the age of 18. He didn't finish high school past the 9th grade. While in the Air Force, Bob was stationed in Alaska, where he fell in love with the snowy landscapes he was so fond of painting later on. Bob was married twice and had a son from the first marriage. His son Steven appeared on the Joy of Paining a few times as an instructor as well.
Bob Ross died in 1995 after losing the fight with lymphoma.

Bob Ross used a technique in his painting called "wet-on-wet". Because this technique allows the painter not to wait for the first level of paint to dry, Bob was able to create the paintings very fast. He used 2" and other brushes, as well as painting knives, to create trees, lakes, mountains and clouds that looked realistic in a matter of minutes. Part of the excitement of watching Bob paint was to see in-distinctive smudges take shape and become realistic objects.

Many of phrases that Bob used on his show have become famous - "happy little trees", "happy accidents" and "beat the devil out of it" (referring to the beating of brushes against the easel to dry them off).

Keeping The New Year's Momentum going

Keeping The New Year’s Momentum Going

You’ve made the New Year’s resolutions, the way you do every year. January 1^st, you’re all primed to go. You’re psyched and excited about accomplishing all your goals. This will be the year you do it all!

We’ve all experienced this, year after year. I definitely have. The problem is not with setting goals and making resolutions. The problem is keeping the momentum going. And not just through the first week or two of the new year but throughout the whole year. That is the only way to look back on December 31^st and realize that this really was the year you reached your goals.

As all of us know, keeping the momentum is easier said than done. That is the trick of tricks. So how is it done?

One psychological trick is not to start on January 1^st. Start your resolution on December 30^th on January 3^rd when you go back to work after the holidays. This is a cheat but it works. Why? Because starting on January 1^st can seem exciting and scary at the same time. After all, it’s a special, “magical” day, the cutoff of things old and beginning of things new. This thought can be daunting. What if you screw it up, this new beginning? Purely psychological manipulations of human psyche but we all do it. The other, simpler reason for starting a couple of days later is that we’re still often in the holiday mode. We are still with family and friends, eating and drinking and being merry. We might not go back to our regular work lives until 2-3 days past January 1^st. And if we fail to jump straight into our resolutions during those days, our excitement might dim, our determination may waver.

Once you’re ready to jump into our resolutions with both feet, you have to remember to have SMART goals:

Specific

Measurable

Attainable

Realistic

Timely

If these five factors are not accounted for, it is much harder to keep the momentum going. We all need smaller realistic goals and time frames to push us forward.

Keep in mind that “realistic” is specific to your life and your every-day demands. What’s realistic for one person may not be realistic for another. For example, for someone who works full time and has kids realistic, let’s say, writing goals might be very different from someone who can write at home all day. To be successful, it is imperative to be reasonable and realistic with your goals as applied to your life. And only you will know what those are.

It is also very important to review where you are in relation to your larger goals/resolutions every week or so. This serves a dual purpose – it lets you see what you have to do next and it also raises the level excitement and satisfaction at seeing how much has been already accomplished.

Versatile Blogger Award - Pass It On

I would like to thank Michael Haynes for nominating me for the Versatile Blogger Award. You can find his blog here.

Here are the rules of the award:

1. In a post on your blog, nominate 15 fellow bloggers for the Versatile Blogger Award.
2. In the same post, add the Versatile Blogger Award.
3. In the same post, thank the blogger who nominated you in a post with a link back to their blog.
4. In the same post, share 7 completely random pieces of information about yourself.
5. In the same post, include this set of rules.
6. Inform each nominated blogger of their nomination by posting a comment on each of their blogs.

And so, I would like to pass on the Versatile Blogger Award to the following 15 bloggers:

1. Heather McCorkle
2. Kicked, Cornered, Bitten and Chased - Lisa Chickos
3. LM Preson
4. Muse, Rant and Rave - Melinda Collins
5. TS Tate
6. Tina Moss
7. Shevi Arnold
8. Writability – Ava Jae
9. Susan Kaye Quinn
10. Seeing Creative - Stina Lindeblatt
11. Kriss Brady
12. The Writer’s Blog - Vanessa Eccles
13. Entertaining Interests - Danielle Bertrand
14. Writing and Kids - Lisa Bouchard
15. Leigh Evans

Since I already listed 7 random facts about me in another award post, I'm going to list the same facts below for those interested.

7 Random facts about me:

1)      I’m a black belt in Shotokan Karate, a traditional Japanese Karate and I’m an internationally licensed instructor. I teach women’s and other classes in the Japan Shotokan Karate Association. My husband is a 6^th degree black belt.

2)      I was born in Kiev, Ukraine and came to America when I was 13 years old. I haven’t been back since, but hoping to visit in the next couple of years.



Kiev


3)      I learned to dive before I could swim. My dad taught me both.

4)      I use to paint with watercolors all my childhood and into my teens. I was best at painting still-life and nature but always wanted to learn to draw people. It is still one of my goals when I get some free time (hmmm…when will that be?)

5)

Kirk

 My husband and I had three cats named after the original Star Trek characters – Captain James T. Kirk, Mr. Spock and Bones. Kirk and Spock passed away within the last year and so now Bones is learning to be the alpha cat. Kirk was always the alpha cat and was like a son to my husband especially. I was always a dog person but these three cats became my “children” and I cannot imagine my life without them now.



Bones

6)      One of my absolutely all-time favorite books is “Master and Margarita” by a Russian writer Michael Bulgakov. The book has been translated in many languages and I strongly recommend it to everyone. Here’s the link to it on amazon.com: Master and Margarita

7)      I wanted to be an archeologist and almost majored in it. My grandfather’s good friend is a prominent archeologist and I always wanted to go on a dig. It still remains an activity to do. But I love everything ancient history.

Teaser Tuesday

Here are the rules:

1. Post 2 sentences from the current book you're reading. You can either

a) open the book and share 2 sentences from anywhere on that page or
b) share your favorite 2 senetnces from the book (they have to be in a row)

2. List the page #

*PLEASE DO NOT POST ANYTHING THAT CAN BE INTERPRETED AS A SPOILER!

3. List the name of the book and the author
"The magic hit, so thick my heart skipped a beat. Derek clenched his teeth. His face strained, muscles on his forearms bulged, and his eyes flooded with yellow."

p. 120

Magic Burns by Ilona Andrews (e- version)


Share your teasers in the comments or give a link to your blog if you're running a Teaser Tuesday.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Happy New Year everyone! May all your wishes come true and may muse find you everywhere you go and in everything you do!

HAVE A HAPPY AND HEALTHY NEW YEAR!