I’m breaking out of this joint!

Hi everyone!  I have forever been resisting the calls of encouraging friends telling me to get my writing out there any way any how, because I didn’t want to publish anything on the internet.  I have finally decided to throw all caution to the wind and follow that little passion of mine in a small way.

I started a new blog today.  You probably won’t hear much from me on Freedom in a Cup anymore, but you weren’t hearing from me anyway, so no big deal.  I think I’ve outgrown it.  The new blog is much more my style.  It will feature my poetry, which is where I belong in writing at this moment in my life.  Here is to weepy goodbyes and a big happy hello.  I hope you enjoy the new material or at least send me a comment or two to say, “WTF does that mean?”  Poetry, especially mine, can be kind of obscure.  Hope it makes you think, or feel, or at least not vomit.  Thanks for reading!

Check ou the new blog here:  http://nakedpoet.wordpress.com/

The universe conspires for Guitar Man

Image by brianarn via Flickr

Guitar Man sent me my beautifully illustrated copy of The Alchemist by Paulo Coehlo, because the universe conspired for him to find it for himself and then send it to me.  I suppose then, that the universe also conspired for James Altucher to write the attached post today and for me to be a loyal subscriber to his blog, because the post was undoubtedly written to inspire and save lives–mine and Guitar Man’s.  Now I’m sending it to Guitar Man and to anyone else out there still reading this blog because…the universe does indeed conspire.

7 Unusual Things I Learned from Louis Armstrong

Late Bloomer

Image by Ontario Wanderer via Flickr

One day I am going to put all of my effort into building a business that I love, a business that inspires me, a business that makes other people happy, and that I just can’t wait to DO when I get out of bed in the morning. 

One day, all of this effort that I put into reading entrepreneurial books will be put into my own business, and maybe I’ll write an entrepreneurial book of my own–if I have time.

One day, the real me is going to just come bursting out of this shell of woman and it will be about time.  One day.

Each day I get a little closer to that day.  I hope it gets here soon.

Happy Birthday Karen!

Happy Birthday Miss Karen!!  I suck!!  But Happy Birthday!!  You are a beautiful intelligent gorgeous funny amazing fun heart-and-soul of a woman inside and out.  I am so lucky to be one who can call you friend.  My world is a better place because you were born.  The whole world is a better place because you were born.  I’m sorry I didn’t get this message to you yesterday.  I hope you had the best of birthdays, and I hope it was the start of the best birthdays of your life to come.  Your are an incredible person and friend, and I love you.  Just like that Georgia song, you are always on my mind.

First birthday cake is the best – YUM!

Baby Bear’s first birthday was a big hit.  She had her first taste of chocolate cake with bright pink butter cream frosting, and that was all she needed for a Happy Birthday!

Wow, that year went fast.  Here we go! On with the toddler years!

It’s Earth Day – It takes a village

When I was a kid, my dad and my stepmom had twin boys. Michael and Matthew.  They were born too soon, and one of them lived only three months; the other lived four months.  They never left the NICU.  I never got to meet them or feel their little fingers curl around mine for the first time.  I could see the heartache sink into my dad’s skin and frame and settle there.  I don’t think it ever really left. I was only a child, and I felt helpless to do anything. 

This year on February 11th as I was preparing the post to celebrate the birth of my first daughter, a beautiful lady that I know was giving birth too soon to twin babies.  Again, I was helpless.  The babies were born at only 24 weeks in a much more technologically advanced NICU than my baby brothers, yet their young lives were still so fragile coming into this world 4 months too early.  One sweet little angel held on for ten days but could not survive the infections that took over. 

The other twin is still fighting for life in the NICU.  Every day is an accomplishment.  Life still hangs in the balance.  There is surgery to come and eight more weeks in the hospital before this lovely baby can come home to the nursery all cozy and waiting.  Meanwhile, Mommy and Daddy had to return to work.  Everyday, they go to and from work and the hospital and home several times – exhausted back and forth. 

Having recently had a baby myself with a hospital stay of only 4 days, I can say that hospital stays can get quite expensive even when everything is fully covered.  There is the expense of gas for family traveling back and forth,  meals for family, and additional medical supplies when you get home all add up.  This is where I can finally offer some help, and hopefully some of you can too.

Through the wonderful children’s book organization Barefoot Books, I am running a fundraiser for the next week.  The fundraiser will run beginning today (Earth Day) through next Saturday, April 30th.  One hundred percent of the commissions earned from the purchase of books through this fundraiser will be donated to the family I described above to help them with their needs while their baby fights for life in the NICU.  It may be cliché at this point, but that’s okay.  It does take a village to raise a child.

With this fundraiser there is an opportunity to make a double donation by purchasing a book to donate to the baby in the NICU (baby gets the book & the commission).  This baby loves to hear stories.  Isn’t that sweet?  It’s amazing how preemies respond to human touch and sounds.  We can start building a love connection to books for this little baby right now. 

If you have small children, check out some of the fantastic books they might enjoy and purchase something for them.  If not, some other ideas for people who don’t have children are to purchase books for your church, a school, a baby shower, or as early gifts for Christmas angel gifts this year. 

Books credited to this fundraiser must be purchased only via this specific link reached by clicking this green Barefoot Books fundraiser link below.

Fundraiser or not, we can all send our thoughts and prayers to help raise this little baby up from spending Earth Day in the NICU to going home day with family for a full and happy long life.  Thanks so much fellow villagers!

P.S. If you know this family or know of another family who had babies in the NICU who might be interested in helping out, please repost or Tweet to get the word out.  Thanks!

Read a picture book – Earth Day is April 22nd!

I came across this New York Times article a few weeks ago while doing some research on publishing children’s books, and my heart sank.  For some time I’ve been wondering what it would be like if all books went the way of electronic media and children’s books were on a Kindle or a Nook.  What if all of the pictures moved and everything in picture books became more like a video game?  I pushed those thoughts away, because it all seemed like a sad loss of innocence to me.  A loss of our creativity and imaginations.

Then, I realized that this article wasn’t even about electronic media.  It was about parents pushing their children to read chapter books instead of books with pictures.  That was equally disheartening.  To this day, I still get so much from reading picture books.  I love them as much as my daughters do.  I wonder if these parents understand the importance of cultivating a love of reading and how that can carry forward to helping a child advance her skill.

I don’t currently have anything ready to publish, and doing so apparently would not help the situation if parents are not buying books.  Publishers clearly don’t want to publish more authors if consumers aren’t buying.  I wanted to do something, but other than buying more and more books for my own girls, what could I do?  As luck would have it, the universe usually provides an answer whenever I ask these questions.

I was reading Peter Guber‘s new book Tell to Win, which is all about telling stories, and he mentions briefly an interesting story about this company that his wife writes for called Barefoot Books.  This company was started from home by two moms who wanted to brand their books and wanted them marketed and sold together as a brand in bookstores.  When the big chains wouldn’t go for it, they walked away from the big chains and went to direct sales.  That took guts, and it got me interested.  I looked them up online, and as it turns out, they allow people to help them sell without buying into the company.  So, there was my answer.  A company with a heart I can believe in is selling something my heart is totally wrapped up in, and they want to save the planet too!  Good ol’ universe.  Always provides.

So here is to Earth Day, and to picture books for all time, and the link to my new online marketplace at Barefoot Books.  Check it out.  You won’t be disappointed.  Look for a super important fundraiser coming soon.