Alex In Pictures

100220-N-2953W-182 USS CARL VINSON- At Sea- On board USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70), Hull Technician 3rd Class Alexander Crawford cuts studs using a grinder in the shipfitter and machine shop. Carl Vinson is currently taking part in Southern Seas 2010 as part of a scheduled homeport shift. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Adrian White/ Released)

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As you all know, I've been looking for my son in all the photos posted to the USS Carl Vinson page on Facebook. I checked tonight and the photos have been updated and a lot of patience later, I found Alex in the last photo (above) in the album posted there.

In an update tonight, they will be crossing the equator, but won't be going through the ceremony for the "first timers" until they cross it again on the other side of South America.

Alex's last email said the ship would port in Rio. I'm hearing DuranDuran singing in my head right now. My friend Sandy Lender, the fantasy author, is now laughing in Florida, because she knows what I'm talking about. :)

I was so excited to see him, since he hasn't been home since January, and he may not be home until May. It's a great picture, showing the work he does, and I've just completed the second article on his trip to Haiti for the local paper. The first article made the front page and took up two more pages in the paper. I was pretty proud of that, but not as proud as I am of Alex.

This has been a great week. It's good to be back to work again. I'm working at a local plastics company, and it's third shift, but my body seems to be acclimating to the schedule much easier than I have from previous times I've worked these hours. I think part of it has been my attitude. I was ready to go back to work. I was driving myself crazy not working. I didn't really have anything that anchored my days or my nights. I felt adrift and lost. Now it's like everything else is falling into place, and my writing has improved much more than it did when I had all the time to write during the day or night.

I'm blessed I've been given this opportunity and it must have been meant to be for it to come so out of the blue like it did. I'm working as a temp for right now, and once my contract is fullfilled with the temp service, I have the opportunity to be hired. I'm excited by that. The people I've worked with have been very gracious, kind, patient and a lot of fun to work with. They have also been extremely helpful in making sure I understand all the procedures and paperwork. I have a lot to learn, but I have a great vibe from this place. I hope I don't disappoint them.

As for my writing, I am writing more, like I said, and planning on selling more e-books and writing some print books as well. I have to update my websites, and figure out exactly where I want this career of mine to go next, but I'm still determined to be a paid, professional writer. I will be announcing some of my plans very soon, so check back later for further details. ;)

In the meantime, please support our troops and pray for them and their families who have sacrificed so we may have the freedoms we have.

Choices Meant For Kings Is Released

My dear friend and fellow writer, Sandy Lender, has announced that the second book in the Choices Trilogy is officially released. If you haven't read "Choices Meant for Gods" yet, run, don't walk and get a copy fast and read it even faster. The second book picks up where the last one left off and you don't want to skip a beat with this one.

So please, go to http://www.archebooks.com/ and get your copy today. You can get the e-book for $3.99 and if you go now to her publisher's website, you will get a 25% discount on the hardcover book.

It's a page turner and I don't usually read fantasy fiction, but this world she created just sucks you right in and once you start reading, you can't put it down.

So, give yourself a little escape today. Go to http://www.archebooks.com/ and buy "Choices Meant for Kings" right now!

Thanks and happy reading!

Laura :)

It's Great News, and Boy, Did I Need It!!

The last couple of weeks have been challenging to say the least. At every turn an appliance was dying or dead and it seemed like it was not going to end.

It's also been an expensive week.

First, the vacuum cleaner would not turn on at all. Nothing. Tried almost every outlet in the house thinking I had a blown breaker or something, but nothing. Ok.

Next, I'm baking my famous cherry chocolate bars when QH asked me, "Why is the light in the oven flickering like that?"

"Um, the light isn't on." I opened the oven door to witness sparks like the 4th of July spewing out of my oven element. We literally watched it spark and fizzle itself out.

The bars were finished on the grill and had that slightly smoky taste, but they disappeared just the same. Ok.

Then, the washing machine was in mid-cycle, when it started making a noise equivalent to someone dropping ball bearings on my tin roof. The repairman came out and diagnosed that my 9-year old washer blew the transmission and snapped off the motor coupling at the same time.

Cost for service call: $80.
Cost to fix the washing machine: $380.
Cost for a refurbished washing machine: $135.

Because QH went all the way to St. Paul to buy it, pack it in the truck and bring it home: priceless *

*(oh, wait, the equivalent to a 2009 Harley Davidson Ultra Glide)

Then our bathtub drain plugged up.

No, it wasn't because I shaved my legs, either!

We think a little plastic cap from the faucet washed down the drain and was plugging it up. The plumbers showed up and fixed it in less than 2 minutes. The bill went to my landlord. I don't even want to know.

So, I guess I shouldn't complain, because everything was fixable. The vacuum was dead because of a blown fuse, which my friend Jessi fixed for me (thanks so much).

The oven was replaced by one my landlord had in his garage (it was an electric oven and he replaced his with natural gas). I spent Saturday in the garage inhaling oven cleaner fumes, but after one and a half cans of oven cleaner, some hot water, and some hard scrubbing, it looks brand new. Mike revealed that he'd used the oven for 2 years, never cleaned it and then just put it in the garage. My shoulders are still sore!

Now we need a microwave, a small one, because the old oven had the microwave attached to it. (It was Kenmore that was about 30 years old). Hopefully, we have a friend who has a small one we can use. In the meantime the stove top is reheating everything.

Oh, and in my rush to get the oven clean, I threw the knobs in the bucket to let them soak. I then proceeded to take the bucket, dump the contents into the toilet and flushed said knobs down the toilet.

We made a trip to Menards and spent around $70 on knobs, drip pans for the burners and a new burner (one was broken).

I'm close to putting a donation button on this blog to help defray some of the costs of the last two weeks! Seriously!

I was starting to get down about all this. When it's one thing after another after another, it gets to you. I wanted to just make it stop. Enough already.

But I got a jolt of perspective yesterday when I read my email.

My dear friend and fellow writer, Sandy Lender, emailed to let us know that her scans came out all clear and she is now cancer free. I immediately burst into tears, and thanked God and all the saints and every good thing in the Universe that she is now 100 % healthy. I felt the same way the first time my mother was given the all clear following her masectomy and she has been cancer free for over 9 years.

Sandy has been through every circle of hell there is and still has that same sweet smile, still takes care of all God's creatures great and small, and thinks more of others than she does of herself. Through all of this mess, her heart has grown more and she is an inspiration to me and all who know her.

She's also a talented writer and her books are proof of that, just go to amazon.com and buy them and read them for yourself. I just have to warn you, make sure you have nothing else planned because once you start, you can't put it down!

You can read more about her at her website Today the Dragon Wins and her books.

Now, I'm going to stop whining, get the house cleaned and make dinner for my QH, and be grateful for all the good things I have in my life. Including my friend Sandy Lender and the fact I know have Fridays off.

If you really want to help, I do have a writing contest for young adult writers going on until June 1, 2009. Just go to my business blog at crawfordwritingservices.blogspot.com and check out the details. You can even enter via email and pay the $10 entry fee through PayPal.

From Florida to Freezing

Yes, we are home.

We made it home on Monday.

When we stepped on to the plane in Ft. Myers, Florida, it was in the mid-80's for a temperature with mostly sunny skies. Three hours later, we stepped off the plane in Minneapolis and it was cloudy, windy and 46 degrees.

I'm still trying to warm up.

QH, in true Eskimo fashion, walked off the plane in his shorts and said, "I'm home!"

I've been trying to get my bearings since we got home, and trying to keep my spirits up because I'm feeling the drop in Vitamin D I was getting daily in the Sunshine State. In a way I am glad to be home, but it's hard to get back in the groove when you think of how long it took you to get on vacation and how fast it went by.

Today, I received a little insight into how to take things now that I'm home. It was a small gift from my fellow writing friend, the fabulous Sandy Lender, in her blog post today on her blog Today the Dragon Wins. Go to her site and check it out: www.todaythedragonwins.blogspot.com. She's had plenty in her life the last few years that has given her the wisdom and insight on how to take things when life piles on the issues and the problems and the obstacles.

Check the comments and leave one for her if you like. (Also, if you haven't read "Choices Meant for Gods" (go to her publisher's site for a great deal) or her chapbook, "The Choices We Made", and both are available at Amazon.com).

I come away with the knowledge that sometimes you just have to take things "one day at a time" as most of my family and friends who have gone through the 12 step programs recite to keep them from falling off track. I forget I'm not Wonder Woman with super powers and that in order to get more done, I need to finish one thing before I move on to the next. I have to check off the things accomplished on my never ending "To Do List" and try not to overwhelm myself. And try to keep the list manageable.

I had 13 days of wondering what we were going to do that day, with no plan or agenda, and it was wonderful.

True, we need to work and make a living, and be responsible and all that, but I'm not going to let my "To Do List" run my life to the point of hyperventilating if I don't get something done. And once it warms up here in the "land of ice and snow", I'm going to do more to have more fun and enjoy the weather and my friends and family.

In the meantime, I'm looking for my socks. My feet are cold.

I Started A Writing Contest

Greetings from Florida!

I'm killing some time out here on the lanai, I'm not sure if I spelled that correctly, using a spare laptop that my friend Gayle has loaned me for the duration of our trip. We've been discussing all sorts of things, and marketing, and catching up on everything.

I got a wild notion to start a writing contest and posted the information on my blog crawfordwritingservices.blogspot.com. It's open to ages 16 to 19 and the entry fee is only $10. The Grand Prize is $500 cash! If you or anyone you know is interested, please click on over and check it out. I will also be posting the information here in another post.

In the meantime, I'm gettting the start of a good tan, the weather has been phenomenal, and we both are resting and relaxing and having a good time. I'll write more later, I'm meeting my good friend and fellow writer, Sandy Lender for lunch. I haven't seen her in a couple of years, so it will be good to give her a good Minnesota hug!

Hope you all have a good day!

39 and...hoping

"It's never too late to become the person you might have been."

Thirty-nine years ago today (June 11, 1969) at 11:55 p.m., I arrived at North Memorial Hospital in Las Vegas, Nevada.

I can't believe I'm this old, and parts of me feel a lot older. LOL! But, I'm 39 and... hoping.

You read that correctly, H-O-P-I-N-G. I still have hope. I don't want to be 39 and HOLDING, that implies desperation, and I may have felt that way a few times today, I realize that's not the energy I want to put out into the world and have come back to me.

I Hope for the next year to come, that I will live to see the BIG 4-0.
I Hope that I will be working from home as a true, honest to God, income producing freelance writer and copywriter full time.
I Hope that I will be teaching and holding seminars, and workshops and sharing my love and passion of the written word to those who may be a little scared to make that leap.
I Hope QH and I can retire.
I Hope my son is successful in advancing in his career in the Navy.
I Hope to accomplish a few more goals on my list, both creatively, professionally, personally and financially.
I Hope that all of my family members and friends are still healthy and happy in their lives and if they aren't happy, I hope they find that path yesterday.
I Hope that we will be a better world, that people will treat each other with kindness.
I Hope...

As far as birthdays go, I had a rough start to my day. Thunderstorms rocked through the area all day. Lightning, thunder, dark clouds, torrential rain, and high winds are not weather that seems to induce any kind of positive reflection. I found myself wanting to go back to bed (which I did), and hide under the covers for a bit. But, I couldn't stay in bed all day, I have a lot of work to do.

I am up to my eyelashes in work to get my house, the garage and the yard in shape for this weekend. I'm throwing a party for my son before he leaves for boot camp on June 19th. I'm hoping all the bad weather is done now and that it will be sunny to partly cloudy on Saturday. Please pray. Thank you.

Today was also my babysitting day, and my nephew, Cannon, who is 2 years old, was over at my house. Usually he is pretty good, but today he was in all of his 2 year old glory. He might have picked up my stressed out vibe and decided to capitalize on it. Who knows.

He wanted me to hold him, then he was getting into the cupboards, then he was following me into the bathroom, then he was trying to sweep and almost breaking everything around him, so I gave him a "rag" and he started "cleaning" stuff. That seemed to work until lunch when I made him spaghetti and he ended up with more on his head and clothes than in his mouth. Bath time!!

I had to take him to my Mom's house because I had today off from work (thank you, thank you, thank you), and I lost 2 hours running from my house to her house, stopping by Walmart really quick and then getting back to the house to try and finish up what I was working on. Since Mom and I work at the same place, we usually play "Pass the baby" at work and Cannon goes home with her.

When I finally arrived back home, I was washing the dishes, and when the water started to drain out, I heard this louder than usual gushing sound coming from under the sink. The pipe had unscrewed itself from under the drain and the water was pouring out into a bucket underneath. The water collected mostly in the bucket, but some of it ended up on my freshly mopped floor. GRRRR!!!

Oh, and it was about 5:15 pm and I was expected to go over to my MIL's house for taco dinner for my birthday...at 5:30 pm. Great.

How's that song go? "If it weren't for bad luck, I'd have no luck at all?"

I wanted to feel sorry for myself.

I really did.

I did have a mental moment when I just cried because it seemed all I was doing was spinning my wheels.

Earlier today, my brother called to wish me a Happy Birthday, and I felt really awful when I was whining to him on the phone. I almost broke down because he and his lovely wife, Lisa, live in Oklahoma, and they aren't able to visit before Alex leaves. I tried not to let my voice shake too much, because he had also called with good news. He has been working his butt off for the last few months to get into school to become a respiratory therapist and he MADE IT!! I am so proud of him, and I realized just how much I really miss my brother. I put the phone down and let the tears go. Enough is enough.

In the end, I can't really feel sorry for myself.

All the things that happened today were "little things". Nothing more than annoyances. Nothing about them was life threatening (ok, the weather had the potential to be dangerous).

I was watching Oprah last night(it was a repeat) and they had Randy Pausch, the author of "The Last Lecture". Randy has a great career, has a beautiful wife and 3 beautiful children under the age of 5 and he's dying of pancreatic cancer. He wrote the "Last Lecture" as part of a class he teaches at Carnegie Mellon University. The lecture is based on the hypothetical situation that if you know you are going to die, what wisdom would you impart to your students or the world at large. Only in his case, it's reality.

One of the most profound things he said was, "You have a choice to be a Tigger or an Eeyore. It's up to you how you decide, how you choose to go through life." (I'm paraphrasing, if you want to check out the whole lecture, I believe it's on the Oprah.com website.

After watching that, and listening to what he said, I realized I have nothing to bitch about. This last few weeks has brought lots of bad news about my family and friends.

Firs, my uncle Jim, who lives in North Dakota, suffered a heart attack a few days ago, and had to have surgery. I have him and his family in my prayers. I was told he is home tonight.

I also have a dear friend who is battling Hodgkins Disease. She went today to have surgery to prep her for chemo. You know her, she's been a frequent visitor here. She is Sandy Lender, author of the Choices Meant for Gods trilogy. The second installment is on its way to be printed at the publisher, and she gets the news that she has this lymphoma in her lungs. No, she doesn't smoke, she eats as healthy as she can, and she is optimistic that she will be "over this in a couple of months." This was quite a shock, since she is a year YOUNGER than me. Talk about a wake up call.

So, as I sit here in the dark, almost 2 hours into being 39 years old, I have to say I am very truly blessed. I can't complain but I do, I'm human and I have my tantrums. I have my "the world should revolve around me moments," but I KNOW, there are people close to me, and some I don't know, who are going through a hell of a lot more than I am. Shut up and be thankful. Count your blessings and figure out what you're going to accomplish before your next birthday, you whiny baby!!

The quote at the top is a new one. I have it taped to my computer monitor where I can glance up and read it when I feel like giving up. I got it from one of my writing groups in Yahoo, called the Creative Mindset. One of the members quoted it during a teleseminar.

I love it. It will set the pace for me in the next 12 months.

In the meantime, for those who wished me a Happy Birthday and I was less than chipper, my sincerest apologies. I was not trying to be ungrateful. I truly appreciate those who remembered, even though I wanted to forget.

I would also like to thank my mother. She's always told me the story about the day I was born, police escort and all, every year on my birthday. She called me tonight to tell me she was having labor pains! LOL! I told her she should call her doctor right away. There might be a problem there!

I realized I'm thankful she is still here to call me and tell me that story, and that she still remembers it. Most people I know have lost their parents, or if they are still living, their memories or their health is fading. Both my folks are alive and kicking, and while they may drive me nuts sometimes, I'm still grateful I have them both.

Now, where's that cake???

A Meme For a Friend

A meme isn't just the name of the evil secretary on "The Drew Carey Show" that wears lots of eye makeup and delights in making Drew's life a living hell. Oh no.

A meme is kind of like a chain letter in the blogosphere, where someone starts with a list of questions and passes it on to a list of people who have blogs and they answer them in their posts(on their own blogs, of course) and pass them on to other people. It's fun, it's informative, and it helps everyone market themselves by giving them exposure. Cool, huh?

So, my friend and fellow writer, Sandy Lender, came up with this meme and I am passing it along. It's all about getting away, like on spring break or on vacation, which all of us are sick to death of winter.

In honor of spring break and all things travel-oriented, here we go!

Getting Away With It

1) If you could live for a month in one world or time period from a novel you've read, which would you choose?

In Onweald, the world created by Sandy Lender in Choices Meant for Gods, so I could meet Amanda and Nigel and the other characters in the book (except for Jamieson Drake!).

2) If you could be one character from a comic book or fiction series, who would it be?

Nancy Drew, from a fiction series, or Wonder Woman from a comic book.

3) Where (in the real world) is your dream vacation spot?

Alaska.

4) Name a celebrity or TV personality whom you would like to have lunch with.

Stephen King.

Wow! That was cool! Now I'm passing it on to the following blogs. Check out their answers by clicking on the links below!

http://jensorganizedwriter.wordpress.com/
http://overthehillchick.blogspot.com/
http://jamiesonwolf.com/
http://oldavonladysorders.blogspot.com/
http://todaythedragonwins.blogspot.com/

Spring Is Here and...Happy Easter!

Spring arrived this week to the relief of the residents of Minnesota. We spent the first day of Spring in Duluth, driving all the way to Grand Marais, Minnesota, which was still covered in snow and Lake Superior still had ice and snow in some of the bays. But the snow and ice were melting, and with the warm temperatures (it was a balmy 30 degrees ABOVE zero), and the bright sunshine, it was the perfect time for QH and I to run away from home.

We left on Wednesday, and came home on Friday morning. Two days away up at the North Shore will renew your energy, recharge your batteries, and make it really hard to leave to go home. If you look at the picture above, you can see why. We daydream of when we will be able to retire and move up there. We scout out places to build a home or find homes for sale that we wouldn't mind moving into. Driving the Skyline Parkway which is way above the cliffs of Duluth at night, then watching the city and the harbor light up like Christmas is breathtaking, and not just because if your brakes fail on the car, you have a sheer drop to the bottom. Nothing like a little adrenaline to keep things exciting!

We stayed at the Black Bear Casino & Hotel in Cloquet, just a few miles outside of Duluth, which was a good thing since I had no idea the Women's Hockey NCAA Frozen Four Tournament was taking place this weekend! Thursday was the first set of games and Wisconsin beat Harvard (ranked #1), and the Bulldogs (University of Minnesota-Duluth), beat New Hampshire. I have no idea how the rest of the tournament is going, but I was happy to hear that much of it!

We aren't very good gamblers. I spent about $10 and QH spent about $4 on the slot machines. We got bored and went back to the room to watch TV. I found $50 lying on the ground in the entrance to the casino on Thursday night when we were returning from dinner, so we came out ahead anyway!

And of course, in true Minnesota fashion, we returned in the middle of a snow storm. I was wishing that I would have taken the day off when I came into work last night, and really wishing it when I left to go home and had to scrape the snow and ice off my car! Oh, well, Spring is here!

To everyone traveling (or not), I hope you have a safe and Happy Easter weekend. It snuck up on me this year, like the Daylight Savings Time, by coming early. I'm used to Easter being either on my Dad's birthday (April 12), or right around it, so for Easter to be in March really throws me off a bit. It also reminds me that time flys faster than we realize.

Everyone say a prayer for one of my dear loved ones. My great aunt, Aunt Mary Kerzmann, suffered a stroke earlier this week. Aunt Mary is the oldest sister of my grandmother, Ellen Crawford. They both live across the hall from each other in an apartment complex in Garrison, North Dakota.

Grandma was very upset when she called Wednesday morning before we left for Duluth, but the latest news is Mary still has her speech, some of her memory is still foggy, and she has been affected on her right side. Mary is 91 years young, but she is not completely out of the woods yet, so please, any prayers and blessings and good thoughts for her recovery will be greatly appreciated. I thank you all in advance.

For those of you who need a good laugh for Easter, stop on over at my friend, Sandy Lender's blog, Today the Dragon Wins and check out her Cadbury Creme Egg "Eggsperiement". It's a riot!

Have a great weekend!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Happy St. Patrick's Day, everyone!

This is one holiday that I look forward to every year. It's a celebration of my Irish heritage, and for people who don't have a smidge of Irish DNA in them, it's a great excuse to party!

Also, in two days (the 19th), QH and I will be celebrating 13 years of being together. We met on March 19th and had our first date on March 25. We were set up on a blind date by a friend of mine at work and her husband. So, ladies and gents, don't think that blind dates don't work. Sometimes they do!

I have a hard time believing it's really been that long. There are times I feel like we just met and are just getting to know each other, and other times, I can't even remember what my life was like before we met. It's been a great time in my life, and yes, we have had our arguments, we have had our rough times, but we have come through them together. I feel like this is going to be the year that all the good things we have worked so hard for will be coming into our lives. I'm excited and exhilirated at the thought that the LOA is working and we will have a banner year together.

To celebrate, we are leaving town to have a couple of days together. We both really need it, and it will be nice to just have some time and reconnect. Who knows what might happen while we are away? It could be lucky!

A quick update on the home front, my son Alex, has been accepted by the United States Navy and he will be leaving on June 19th. Most everyone who knows me thinks I should be crying and grieving and carrying on. Not so. I am happy that he has finally gotten what he has worked so hard to achieve and that he is on the way to make a life and a career for himself. I am extremely proud of him and all the things he has accomplished in these last few months. I will miss him, I will cry, but I won't fall apart until after he leaves. That would not be fair for him, and he is not responsible for my happiness or my unhappiness. I don't want to make him feel bad for leaving. I want him to know I love him and that no matter what happens, he can always come home.

My last post was rather sad, about the death of Jeff Healey, a great musician who brought joy to millions of people through his music. Today I want to celebrate a new life. On the celebrity front, Halle Berry and her life partner, Gabriel Aubry, welcomed a beautiful baby girl. It's the first child for both and there is no news on the name yet, but I'm sure they both are happy and feel truly blessed. There is nothing on earth like holding that tiny person in your arms for the first time. The love that flows from you to them and back again is beyond words. Congratulations to both of them!

I also want to give a shout out to my friend, Sandy Lender, who has just returned home from a business trip to my birthplace, Las Vegas, Nevada. You can read all of the hilarious details at her blog.

If you haven't picked up her book, Choices Meant for Gods, get on over to Barnes & Noble or Amazon.com and order it. The second book in the trilogy will be hitting the shelves soon. Today she has a fabulous contest going on, so check it out at her blog, todaythedragonwins.blogspot.com, and get all the details. Who knows, it's St. Patrick's Day! You just might get lucky!

Kiss someone Irish today, or just kiss someone, whether they are Irish or not. And if you drink too much green beer, then please take a cab home or have someone drive you home. Stay safe, and have a very lucky day!

Crawford Writing Services, Inc.

Yes, that's right! I have decided to make the leap into my own business. I'm tired of working for other people and feel that my writing skills are sufficient to go out on my own.

Don't worry, I have to keep my night job for now, but I am bound and determined to make this work and be successful.

I do have a lot of people to thank, the list is not in any particular order of importance, they are all #1 in my book.

Thanks to everyone who believes in me enough that I could ever have made it this far.

Q.H.(aka. Q-man),LOML-Love of my life,
Alex, my son,
Tom & Mavis, my parents,
Andy & Lisa, my brother and his wife,
Kelley & Travis, my sister and her husband,
Jim & Susi, my uncle & aunt, thanks for the big coffee mug!
Sandy Lender, author and fellow Duranie,
Dorothy Thompson, my FFG (fabulous fairy godmother),
PappaGale Sparks, artist, writer, redneck renaissance man,
Jamieson Wolf, writer and friend,
Steve Conklin, my editor at Zimmerman Today, my first paid writing job.

Also everyone in my Writers Life family, who are too numerous to mention. I have learned so much about myself, my writing, what works and what doesn't, and that sometimes you just have to go for it, no matter how scared you are.

I toast all of you and appreciate everything you have done for me.

My website for Crawford Writing Services, Inc. is now up. You can visit at www.crawfordwritingservices.blogspot.com

Here's to success!