Selling out to electronics?

I admit it, I love my electronics. From my phone to my laptop to my iPod to my Kindle Fire, I always have one on me. At first, they were just tools. I used them to write, make phone calls and keep in touch with friends. My biggest hold-out was getting an e-reader.

A year ago, there was no way I'd ever buy an e-reader. I love the feel and smell of books. I love the feel of the paper and the smell of old books. Just last weekend, I went to an antique market and just inhaled the smell of all those old books. I used to go to bookstores and spend hours just wandering up and down the aisles. I had my husband build a bookcase to hold all my treasures. I thought there was no way that having my literature on an electronic tablet would ever compare.

Then I started seeing on Facebook how many of my friends just loved their e-readers and I still said, oh no, they're not for me. How could I ever read Shakespeare or Charlotte Bronte on a computer? It was bad enough that all my photography was stored on my laptop with just select pictures being printed. Then my neighbor bought a Kindle and I started looking at his. Then I saw an e-book that was available on print so I downloaded the Kindle app for my laptop. That's what started my conversion.

My husband and I used to love to go hang out at Border's. Then the bomb hit, they were closing! What was I going to do? Barnes and Noble wasn't as comfy and sure there was Half Price Books, but it still wasn't the same. I went to Border's every week as they were getting ready to close and watched as the prices were dropping and I was still buying books. I also started looking at the e-readers and still kept saying no, they weren't for me. Then they dropped to 65% off and I can't pass up a deal and my husband kept saying, oh you know you want one. Yeah, I had to admit that deep down, I kind of did.

So I excited the store that day with a new Sony e-reader in hand. I couldn't put it down and where ever I went I had it with me, but I was still reading real books along with the books on my e-reader. I still wasn't betraying my books. I was okay with that.

Then came Valentine's Day and my sweet husband, knowing how much I loved my Sony, bought me a Kindle Fire. Oh My God, do I love it!! It's never far from my side and I also love that I can get online with it and have any apps that I want. Yes, I've sold out and haven't picked up a real book in over a month. I put a leather cover on it and it feels like a fine book now, at least on the outside. I guess that I just need to go and sniff my antique books every once in a while for the smell of them.

What has become of the first e-reader that I bought just eight months ago? I'm wiping it clean for my kids because I already have one kid who loves books almost as much as me.

Why do I write?

I suppose people write for a variety of reasons. Some write for pleasure, some write for their job, and probably a plethora of other reasons. I write my own blog for therapy. I'm not good at talking to people in real life, most of them live inside this little box. I have few friends and honestly, I probably drive my husband crazy when I talk for hours at the end of the day because I have little adult interaction during the day. Most of the time, my best conversation are with a 6-month-old. For me, writing is a way to get out all those thoughts that go around in my head.

I also adore the written word. I've always been a reader and never thought of myself as much of a writing until college. To be honest, I had a middle school teacher who told me that I should avoid writing at all cost because I was so terrible at it. Yes, he had the nerve to tell a 13-year-old kid that because I used the word "the" too many times in a composition. So it wasn't until I was in college, when I was getting A's on all my papers and positive words from my professors that I could look at writing as something that I could do, be good at and enjoy.

The hardest part is keeping the self-doubt from creeping in, as it often does. I have to remember, that to be an even better writing, I have to write every day and I have a little talent as a writer and the more I write, the better I will become. Singers don't get to be great singers without practicing and athletes don't get to be great athletes without continuing to practice their skills and continue to improve them.

To be a professional writer is a big dream for me. Yes, I've had some things published and I do freelance work, but my goal is to make this full-time for me. My greatest thrill ever, as a writer, was when I picked up the phone for our receptionist one day when I was at my old job and the person asked to speak the the author of the latest piece in the company's e-newsletter. In my head, I was thinking, Oh my God, she's talking about me!! Wow, I'm an author!!! Of course, being the professional that I am, I put her only hold and told her that I'd connect her and ran back to my office. When I was talking to the woman, she went on and on about how wonderful this article was and was so complimentary of my writing style. I needed to hear that.

I know I'll be successful at this endeavor someday. I might not be today or tomorrow, but I will keep working at it until I've made it.

Thanks Peyton for the Great Ride

I love sports, I just don't play them for the simple fact that I don't like to sweat and I'm a klutz. I play a bit of tennis or go bowling, that's about it. I love the excitement when my Colts score a touchdown or the roar of the engines as IndyCars soar into the first turn. I love when my husband tears up when that Gomer Pyle guy sings "Back Home Again in Indiana because he lives and breathes the 500. I love the excitement and chaos that the Super Bowl brought to Indiana this past February. Most importantly, I love how sports bring people together for a little fun.

I admit that I was downright pissed when the Colts let Jim Harbaugh go to pick up Peyton Manning back in '98 because to me, Jim Harbaugh made me love the Colts because I had followed his career since I was in high school and he playing for the University of Michigan. That is how the NFL works though, it's all about making a better team because it's all about the wins because no one likes watching a losing team. I experienced that too much growing up in Michigan and having the Lions lose.

Peyton Manning proved himself though and we all watched as the Colts went from a mediocre team to Super Bowl champions. It was so important to Indianapolis to have a team they could really cheer for and give a sense of excitement to Naptown. We don't have much around for entertainment and waiting for the Colts to demolish the next team gave us something to look forward to every Sunday. It was awesome watching Peyton as more than a quarterback and more like a computer as he executed his precision spiraling throws to Marvin Harrison or Dallas Clark. Wow, that man can through and he can analyze and change up plays on the fly to baffle the other teams.

Then came last season and Peyton's neck surgeries. We knew it was serious and the team seemed to fall apart. The excitement was gone as we watched our Colts lose week after week. My husband and I went to a pre-season game and it was just heart-wrenching. Would the Colts be the same without Peyton? We had to face the facts though that the team would eventually have to move on without Peyton and with a chance at the number one pick, I don't see how the Colts had any other option than to let him go. I had become a Peyton Manning fan and even named a pug I once had, Peyton.

It was so sad watching yesterday's press conference when it became official that Peyton Manning would no longer be a Colt. The future of the Colts as we know is unknown, but I'm sure they will be back on top after a couple of years of re-building the team. I think everyone is a little sad right now because the team was built around him, but it will be okay.

So thank you Peyton for a great fourteen year ride and good luck with whatever team you end up with, as long as it's not the evil Patriots. Now on to racing season and I don't mean NASCAR!!

Give your babies an extra hug today

We all have days when we get frustrated with our kids and they drive us to the brink of losing our sanity. At least of of my kids has to test my patience every day. Then, there's those days when you hear of tragedy that snaps you back to reality and all you want to do is hold your kids close and give them lost of hugs.

This week has been that way for me. Starting with the tornadoes that devastated Southern Indiana and ripped two towns to shreds and you hear of the lives lost, including young children. I think of the little one-year-old and how she was found in a field, her parents and her siblings all died in the tornado and then she lost her life a few days later.

That day, I know how nervous I was as the storms approached and my heart was pounding as I had my twins and the children that I care for taking cover and I had to be calm for them. The kids were scared, but I have them my iPod and put on some Taylor Swift and they were singing and having a good time very quickly. My nerves were about shot though until the sirens stopped. The parents of the children I care for where a nervous wreck being away from them and I had to be strong for everyone, calm nerves and keep everyone safe. Then I saw the destruction on the news and realize how fragile everyone's lives are and I was just so thankful that it never got near me and my older two came home from school and my younger kids were here with me and I was able to safely give the other kids back to their parents at the end of the day.

Then two days later, I learn of a mom in one of my mom's groups that has lost her son to a virus that attacked so quickly and without warning and now her youngest is battling the same virus. I can't imagine all that she's going through and I just keep praying for them. That's all I can do and it feels helpless. I ask everyone reading this to say a prayer or send a positive thought to this family.

I kept checking on my kids last night and thanking God for their health and they all were sleeping soundly and were healthy. Between my husband and I we have six children and all have had some kind of health issue when they were born or as a baby, but we are extremely thankful that we have six healthy kids. Yes, they can drive us crazy, but we have them to love and look forward to them all growing up. Part of me, wants to be overprotective and keep them from any harm that could ever come to them, but that's not realistic and that scares me. The only think we can do is to love and protect them to the best of our ability.

So give your kids a little extra love today, for life is fragile and precious.

Just the beginning

I've always said I was going to do it and look, I really am blogging!! I've made several attempts at starting a blog, only to let my self doubt get the best of me. So here I am and I'm not giving up this time.

If you're actually taking the time to read this and care, here's a little about me. My name is Kelly and somehow I ended up in Indiana, from my home state of Michigan, about twenty years ago and haven't figured out a way out yet. I work from home doing this and that, but by profession, I'm supposed to be a writer, at least that's what I went to college to do.

I'm mom to four beautiful children. Nick is my oldest and just turned 13. He is a video game addict and it's rare that you ever see him away from his games. Next is my diva, my 8-year-old Katie. She just loves fashion, but is learning how to do it on a tight budget, which is important in our house. Then there is my 5-year-old twins - Abby and Luke. They are as different as can be and both a bundle of trouble. Abby is outspoken, has an Irish temper and watch out when she gets mad, but she loves people just as passionately as she gets mad. Luke, has been calm and quiet since birth. He's all boy though and he'll even take a run at his big brother, if he gets ticked off enough.

I can't forget about my hardworking, sometimes a little crazy, husband, Steve. He is the love of my life, my rock and my biggest fan. This is the second time around at marriage for both of us and we couldn't be happier. We're just coming up on our second anniversary soon. We love the Indy 500 and just racing in general and come the month of May, I'll probably be blogging from the track.

What else about me, hmm, oh, I'm a dork. I love William Shakespeare, RenFaires and my Kindle Fire. I'm also a couponer and love the thrill that I'm saving money. In fact, I will be creating a couponing section, along with recipes using the ads for what's on sale this week. I guess that's all for now.