Archive for the ‘The Chatterbox’ Category

Posted on May 16, 2013 - by Regina

FASHION APOCALYPSE

The heroine in Rose’s new book is a beauty advice columnist. Today, I will try my hand at a different kind of beauty advice column – EMERGENCY BEAUTY!

In 2009, Western Kentucky was hit with one of the worst ice storms in our history. There were folks without electricity and water for up to 2 weeks – a few, out in the farthest reaches of the county, even longer.

It was during this time that I realized just how important basic makeup use can be.

Really.

   You’ve seen pics of a fictional “zombie apocalypse?” Well, that was what the first trip to a generator-powered grocery store looked like. We’d all been hunkered down for nearly a week when finally the roads cleared enough to get generators in and open up a few businesses for basic cash-only grocery purchases.

People were wandering the semi-lit aisles, looking for food that didn’t need to be refrigerated OR cooked. No makeup. Hair in disarray. That glazed look on their faces.

Honestly, there were folks that I simply did not RECOGNIZE until they spoke.

It was then that I came up with a few beauty tips that work for any circumstance – even without power or running water:

Curly hair CAN be your friend. Seriously. For a few days, all you have to do is brush, fluff, and pat it into shape, squirt some hairspray on it, and in a semi-darkened building when you’re probably wearing a hat anyway, you’re good to go. Like I tell my curly-haired daughter – it’s the SHAPE that counts.

Eyeliner and mascara are all you truly need to look like a living human. Lipstick is good, but a tinted lip-balm is enough if your eyes are made up.

Have lotion-infused tissues and makeup remover/cleansing wipes on hand.  They can literally take care of more than just removing makeup.

That’s all. I resolved, after that horrifying trip to the grocery store, that I would NOT leave the house without fluffing, lining, and lashing.

I’ll save my treatise on pajama pants in public for another time . . .

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HOW YOU CAN WIN A COPY OF “WEDDING ON THE ROCKS.”

Rose is generously offering not one but TWO copies of Wedding on the Rocks AND TWO copies of her previous release Rose of Sharon to readers who comment between now and Friday, May 17, and let us know about their most unusual job or a beauty secret and/or mishap. That’s four chances to win a book every time you post here at Inkspirational Messages until FRIDAY!

Contest closes Friday, May 17 at midnight (central time). It is open to readers in the U.S. and Canada only.

Posted on May 14, 2013 - by Stacy Monson

Rock Hound

My husband is a certified rock  hound. Okay, so maybe there isn’t a certification for that, but he’s definitely certifiable! While his interest doesn’t lie so much in archaeology, like Rose’s hero in her newest release, Wedding on the Rocks, he’s definitely crazy about rocks. We have rocks of all shapes and sizes in our yard – surrounding the fish pond, as stepping stones through the garden, decorative boulders, from every state we’ve ever set foot in. Big ones, small ones…you get the picture.

He’s retrieved all of the large boulders in our yard on his own. Seeing rocks piled in a farm field, he’ll go right up to the front door to inquire of the owners if they want to get rid of said rocks. Not too many say no! For the larger ones, he’ll roll them all the way to the van where he’s rigged a way to roll the boulder up a makeshift ramp and into the back. Just like God goes looking for us, finding us in unexpected places, left out in the field, seemingly unimportant.

But lest you think my husband is not the discriminating type, every boulder – indeed, every rock – has some unique characteristic, along with its own story. Just like us. We have our own unique characteristics and our own story in the making.

Of all our rocks, boulders, stones, pebbles and chunks, his favorite has always been the Lake Superior Agate. Before they’re cleaned, they’re actually quite ordinary-looking. But my rock hound can point one out in the midst of a pile of rubble. Somehow he sees the beauty within long before the rest of us can (like God sees our beauty buried beneath our ordinariness).

He’s been known to spot a potential agate and give it a lick to see if it’s actually what he thinks. (Well, he sorta spits on it and cleans it up that way.)

After collecting a bucketful, he puts them through a process that would take too long to explain here. They get washed and tumbled and smoothed until there isn’t a nick to be found. Just like God puts us through a process called life that washes us, tumbles us, and smooths us until we’re fit for heaven.

On a trip up north last summer, we stopped at what seemed to be a little roadside rock store. Imagine my surprise when we discovered several rooms of gorgeous “rocks” – some worth tens of thousands of dollars! The owner collects them from trips around the world, buys and sells them, makes them into jewelry or simply conversations pieces (if you can imagine talking about a $14,000 rock on your shelf!).

So while most of us will never pursue the life of an archaeologist, we can be our own kind of rock hound. In the ordinariness of life, we can search for and celebrate the hidden agates  – in a shared laugh with a friend, in the peacefulness of sunshine after rain, in the dirt-smudged face of a child, in the unexpected kindness of a stranger.

Now, does anyone need any agates??

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HOW CAN YOU WIN A COPY OF WEDDING ON THE ROCKS?

Rose is generously offering not one but TWO copies of Wedding on the Rocks and TWO copies of her previous release Rose of Sharon to readers who comment during the next two weeks and let us know about their most unusual job or a beauty secret and/or mishap. That’s four chances to win a book every time you post here at Inkspirational Messages in the next two weeks.

Contest closes Friday, May 17 at midnight (central time). It is open to readers in the U.S. and Canada only.

Posted on May 2, 2013 - by Regina

MY BABY SISTER

Sisters are truly gifts from God. I know I prayed and prayed for one! Mine was born on a March day when I was in first grade – 10 days after my 7th birthday!

She had a knack for being cute and goofy at home, then clam up in front of other people.

She could turn cartwheels all the way across the yard (or the fellowship hall at church!), twirl her baton incessantly, and ride her bike all the way through the Baptist camp where we lived for a time.

She also has a way of saving the day . . .

As a teenager, I took great pride in my biscuit-making skills. (I know. You’re thinking, and rightly, “pride goeth before a fall!) My parents both stood over me at age 10, and instructed me on the finer arts of not over-kneading the slightly-sticky dough. One day, though, my boyfriend was coming over. Homemade biscuits? No sweat! I can do that with my eyes shut! So, I went through the steps perfectly, rolled them out, placed them ever-so-perfectly on the baking sheet, and put them in the oven. After about 12 minutes, I went to take them out, and there they were. As flat as they were when I put them in. They were supposed to AT LEAST double in height!

Then I found out who the culprit was. My dad. He had put all-purpose flour in the self-rising flour canister. Ugh. I cried.

But my sister saved the situation. She was about 9, I think. She said, very sweetly, “Gina, they’re not bad if you put butter and salt on them!” LOLOL

She was completely sincere.

And that’s what sisters do. They encourage, infuriate, comfort, pick, and LOVE.

And the greatest of these . . . is LOVE!

I love you, Andrea Gail Rudd Peak!

Now its your turn. Every time you share one of your sister stories in the next two weeks, you’ll be entered in the drawing for a copy of When Love Calls by Lorna Seilstad for yourself and a matching copy for a sister. Contest closes at midnight, central time on Friday, May 3, 2013 and is open to those in the U.S. and Canada. Name chosen by Random.org.

Posted on May 1, 2013 - by Brenda Anderson

Sister Blessings!

Sisters. Sisters. There were never such devoted sisters! (Singing yet?)

Admittedly, that’s an easy song for me to sing. You see, I am richly blessed with sisters. Not only do I have two sisters by birth, I also have seven sisters-in-law!

Even better, we all get along. How many extended families do you know can spend the day after Thanksgiving shopping together? It’s a years’ old tradition that started with my mom, my sisters, and me that now includes sisters-in-law and our daughters. The picture you see below doesn’t include everyone–we’d  have to extend our table three times to fit the rest of the women and girls in my family alone.

 

Yeah, we’re blessed!

We have a built-in support system for the bad times, a vocal cheering section for the good times, and we’d do anything to help each other out.

But, best of all, I count my sisters as friends, perhaps the greatest blessing of all.

Now, for those of you who are still humming Sisters from White Christmas (I am), clink <here> to sing along.

~*~*~*~

Now its your turn. Every time you share one of your sister stories in the next two weeks, you’ll be entered in the drawing for a copy of When Love Calls by Lorna Seilstad for yourself and a matching copy for a sister. Contest closes at midnight, central time on Friday, May 3, 2013 and is open to those in the U.S. and Canada. Name chosen by Random.org.

 

Posted on April 30, 2013 - by Stacy Monson

The Silver Lining of Adversity

I grew up in a family of four kids – girl, boy, girl, boy. Raised by a single mother who was working full-time and putting herself through six years of college, it could have been a recipe for disaster.

Not so, Grasshopper.  All four of us actually turned out pretty good, if I do say so myself.     Sue, the oldest, has been in Human Resources for her entire career. Steve, second born, has been a highly successful and recognized college track coach. Me, third born – well, you can decide. And Scott, the “baby” is a popular college professor on the East coast (and a PhD to boot).

My sister and I are four and a half years apart. She’s the typical first born – responsible, focused, driven, big heart. The “put your head down and work” kind of person. The family protector. I’m the typical third born – a peace maker, afraid of my own shadow growing up, happy to just go along so we’d all get along. But even being so different, we were still good friends. (During thunderstorms, when we were young, she’d let me crawl into her bed. Her twin bed!)

She married a year or so out of high school, when I was just barely into high school, and went off to live a grown-up life while I was still growing up. When she moved to Chicago, we kept in touch often. She came home for visits, I went there for visits. Our first-borns are just seven months apart.

I was thrilled when she moved back here. While “the boys” have lived away their whole adult lives (one in Iowa, the other in Virginia), Sue and I were happy to be back in the same place, raising our kids together, hanging out with our mom. Little did we know we would become each other’s lifeline during a particularly difficult and painful journey.

The four of us siblings have stayed close all these years. When we’re all together, which is about every other year, we cram in as much life as we can. Makes our spouses crazy but we love it. Our greatest bonds have been around our faith, our mom, and our shared sense of humor (which our mother had in spades).

So when Mom started showing signs of forgetfulness, we burned up the phone lines sharing our concerns, making plans, and being worried together. Sue and I, however, had the job of physically caring for Mom. And we did it in tandem.

Alzheimer’s Disease is a particularly difficult disease because there’s no treatment, no way to slow it down once it starts. From her early seventies until she died at 79, Mom slowly faded into someone we didn’t recognize. It would have been unbearable dealing with it alone, but together my sister and I were able to face it side-by-side, even finding things to laugh about. (If you don’t laugh sometimes, you’ll cry the whole time.)

From having Mom’s license taken away, to moving her into assisted living, then memory care, then behavior care, Sue and I made all the hard decisions together. Paring down Mom’s belongings. Finding the right next place for her to move. And making sure she always had cookies available – when she got ornery, the staff could wave a cookie in front of her and she’d change her tune in a heartbeat. (They called her the Cookie Monster.) And while “the boys” couldn’t be with us often, they were always there in spirit, agreeing with our decisions, encouraging us, appreciating us from afar.

Through years of watching Mom change from an extremely independent, bright, articulate social worker to a tiny, confused, toddler-like being, Sue and I held onto each other. God did an amazing thing during that time – when I had reached my limit and simply couldn’t deal with one more issue, Sue was there to take care of it. And when she was at the end of her rope, I stepped in. Over eight years, that pattern never wavered. We held each other up while walking the awful journey of Alzheimer’s with Mom.

During the week Mom was dying, we were with her nearly every minute. If there had been a baton, we’d have been handing it to each other as one came to give the other a break. At the end, all four of us kids (along with a mix of spouses and grandchildren) were there to say goodbye with laughter and tears. It was an amazing end to an amazing journey.

The best part? Sue and I are stronger because of it – as individuals, as sisters, as friends. While we’d all like Mom back as she used to be, we know she’s in a far better place now, healed, whole and talking God’s ear off. And Sue and I? We know without a doubt we have each other’s back. I couldn’t ask for anything more.

**REMEMBER – Each time you share a sister story during this Sisters series, you’ll be entered into a drawing for a copy of When Love Calls for yourself and a matching copy for your sister. Contest closes at midnight central time on May 3rd, and is open to U.S. and Canadian residents. Name to be chosen by Random.org. **

Posted on April 29, 2013 - by Kim

More Than DNA

Her name is Valerie and…

She’s a blonde. I’m a brunette.

She has blue eyes. Mine are brown.

She was born on May 12. I was born eight days later.

Her mother cut my hair. My mother’s classroom gave us a place to hang out after school.

She grew up to marry and teach. I grew up to remain single (but still looking) and earn my doctorate in audiology.

When we were kids, we were inseparable.  We played Barbies, kept each other’s secrets, and fought like cats and dogs. She even broke my nose back when we were about ten years old — seems when it comes to football in the South, everybody takes it seriously.

When we were teenagers, we shared a cabin at band camp in the wilds of Mentone, Alabama. A few times, when the wild animals found the garbage on the A-framed building’s back porch a little too inviting, we shared a cot. After all, everybody knows a rabid fox wouldn’t dare attack two teenage girls who’d spent the better part of a week in ninety-degree heat on a chigger-infested practice field with rattlesnakes prowling the edge of the woods. At least not if he valued his life. I shared her heartaches and growing pains. We had each other’s back and stood side by side to support those we included in our circle. There were good times and bad times. Arguments and hurt feelings. But through it all, we were sisters.

She was even willing to claim my stinky baby brother as her own.

And although we haven’t been close in years, I like to think we are sisters in our hearts. Just like we’ve always been. After all, it isn’t always about DNA.

Now its your turn. Every time you share one of your sister stories in the next two weeks, you’ll be entered in the drawing for a copy of  When Love Calls for yourself and a matching copy for a sister. Contest closes at midnight, central time on Friday, May 3 and is open to those in the U.S. and Canada. Name chosen by Random.org.

Posted on April 25, 2013 - by Dawn Ford

SHHHH! It’s A Secret!

Being the only girl out of four children and mother of three boys, I don’t have much experience with sisters. However, the Lord blessed me after I joined my church with a group of women called Secret Sisters.

If you have never heard of us, this is how it works. But, before I begin, I must swear you to a vow of silence. We don’t want our secrets to go public! Place your right hand over your heart and your left on top of your favorite Bible and state the following: I do solemnly swear that I shall not whisper, speak or shout the following information to any soul, unless they be female, and vow to take these mysteries to the grave if necessary to keep the Society of Secret Sisters, well, you know…secret.

Good. You’re now an affirmed member of this society.

 

Now, back to how it works. It all starts in January where our Lady of Organization holds the first meeting. There we fill out a sheet of paper with our names, addresses, color schemes of our house, likes, and dislikes. On this sheet we also state two special dates, usually a birthdate (NO birth year necessary!), or anniversary, but it can be a rebirth date or any date we deem special. Lastly we fill out a prayer request for the year. This sheet is handed back to our Lady of Organization, who keeps them in a special hidden file and gives the drawees a copy.

That’s when the fun begins. When you pick out your sister, you have until the next meeting in February to come up with your clever name, something like Lorna’s Cereal Killer (She murdered boxes of cereal a different way each month, i.e. hanging, drowning, bullet hole, etc…) or one of my all-time favorites Bobbette Barker (I got game show prizes complete with announcer narratives in my cards, along with the necessary plea to have my pets spade or neutered). You sign up to host one month, either alone or with another sister. Then you shop. Everything from the bags and tissue, to the card, to the gift itself is painstakingly chosen with your secret sister in mind and information sheet in hand. Our Lady of Organization is there in case someone forgets a meeting and does a no-show. She fills in with a generic gift so everyone always has a gift to open. Hopefully not too many miss at a time, as attendance is crucial-who doesn’t want to see their sister’s face when they open their gift! Our monthly hostess/hostesses are challenged with bringing a gift for the Lady of Organization, so she always has a gift/special gift as well.

As for the hostess, your job is to get your invitations ready for the monthly meeting before you are to host, and have your themed

invitations ready to hand out, giving the sisters a month to find the perfect gift. The themes can be anything. There have been scavenger hunts with women zipping across town with clues, to spa themes, to Luaus complete with grass skirts. Fun comes in any theme! When your month arrives, you decorate the location the meeting will be held and plan the food and beverages accordingly. It can be as easy or as grand as you like, just be sure to have a game, because face it, we all love games. If you choose to, you can have gifts for the winners or losers of your games. December is the big revealing party where everyone tries to guess who their secret sisters were (I never got it on the first guess), and you can’t open your gift until you figure out who it was.

 

My house is bedecked with special gifts from my secret sisters, and the majority of my holiday decorations have come from them as well. All of the pictures shown on the blog today have been secret sister gifts. I had some pretty awesome sisters!

Voila! That’s it! All the secrets necessary to form your own little society of Twisted Sisters, oh…heh, heh, Secret Sisters, that is!

**Each time you share a story about sisters today and next week, you’ll be entered into a drawing for a copy of When Love Calls for yourself and a matching copy for your sister. Contest closes at midnight central time on May 3rd, and is open to U.S. and Canadian residents. Name to be chosen by Random.org. **

Posted on April 25, 2013 - by Shari Barr

How Well Do You Know Your Sisters?

Okay, class, time to put on your thinking caps and get out your number two pencils. We’re having a totally irrelevant pop quiz today.

Since we’re talking about sisters to commemorate the release of Lorna’s new book When Love Calls, I thought it would be fun to think back on some famous TV and movie sisters. Hopefully we’ve watched some of the same shows over the years so you will recognize some of these well-known fictitious sisters and their shows.

Now is everybody ready? Okay…GO!

1. What sister in this popular show from the 70’s said the following statement after an incident with a football?  “Oh, my nose!”

2.This sitcom aired for over a decade starting in the mid 90’s and stars three guys and three girls in their late twenties who live in Manhattan. One girl is a clean freak with a dinosaur geek for a brother. What’s her name?

3. In this popular 80’s movie, what is the name of the sister who is annoyed that her brother fakes a serious illness (and gains the sympathies of not only their parents but the entire town) so he can play hooky with his girlfriend and best buddy?

4. What two teenage sisters—one a ditzy blonde and the other a moody middle child—both had a crush on a boy named Kyle? (Bonus points will be given if you can correctly identify the hometown of the actor who plays Kyle.)

5. What’s the name of the movie that stars a set of identical pre-teen twin girls, separated at birth, who reunite at summer camp and devise a plan to get their divorced parents back together?

6. What redneck sister swam in a cement pond in this 60’s show?

7. What three sisters lived at the Shady Rest Hotel and started each episode of this 60’s show by flinging their old fashioned undergarments over the side of the hotel water tower where they swam?

8. What famous aardvark sister frequently annoys her older brother in this popular animated kid’s show?

Answers:

1. Marcia from The Brady Bunch
2. Monica from Friends
3. Jeanie from Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
4. Bridget and Kerry from 8 Simples Rules. By the way, Kyle, played by Billy Aaron Brown, is from Clarinda, Iowa—just down the road a ways from my home. If you knew this one, you are truly in the upper crust of society. Welcome.
5. The Parent Trap
6. Elly May from The Beverly Hillbillies
7. Betty Jo, Bobbie Jo, and Billie Jo from Petticoat Junction
8. D.W. in Arthur

Okay, give yourself 1 point for each correct answer. (Give yourself 5 extra points if you knew Kyle’s hometown.) Check the listing below to see how well you know these memorable sisters.

If you scored a perfect 13, you have achieved the status of a true mastermind! You are truly brilliant. Keep up the good work!

If you scored 7-12, pat yourself on the back for being such a gifted brainiac in knowledge of TV and movie trivia.

A score of 4-6 means you probably read or played outside a lot as a child, or simply had a productive day without feeling the need for TV viewing. That’s okay. You show potential for change.

A score of 1-3 means you need to educate yourself on quality programming of days gone by. “Netflix” is a good place to start and will quickly get you on the right track.

If you didn’t get any right, don’t feel bad, it’s possible that expertise in the art of meaningless trivia just isn’t your thing. Or, maybe you’re simply not the right age to have seen most of these shows. In that case, have a sister, niece, friend, or maybe even your mother or grandma take this quiz for you.

Better luck next time.

Don’t forget to leave a comment on any blog post this week or next for a chance to win two copies of Lorna’s newest book “When Love Calls” for you AND your sister or girl friend. Contest closes at midnight, central time on Friday, May 3 and is open to those in the U.S. and Canada. Name chosen by Random.org.

Posted on April 24, 2013 - by Rose Ross Zediker

Like Night and Day

Although we share the same genetics, growing up my (older) sister and I were very different.

She liked hard rock (think Alice Cooper).  I liked soft rock (think the Carpenters).

She hated to sew.  I loved to sew.

She preferred watching soap operas. I preferred riding my bike.

She liked scary shows like Night Gallery. I liked anything BUT scary shows! (It was my writer’s imagination, I’m sure!)

She read mysteries. I read romances.

She stayed up late. I went to bed early.

She wore her hair long (and still does). I wore my hair short (and still do).

She loves summer time. I love winter time.

She ate salty snacks. I ate sweet snacks.

She helped Dad in the garden. I helped Mom cook the garden produce.

Yet we always had fun together going to movies, driving ‘the loop’(dated myself there didn’t I?), playing with Barbie’s and paper dolls, going to rodeos and concerts. The list could go on and on.

We still do have fun together and like all sisters, we also share secrets and memories and have a language all our own. It only takes a slight facial change in a crowd of people to know what the other sister is thinking!

This is the most recent picture I have of us saved to my computer. It was taken about two years ago beside a memorial barn quilt given to the town of Westfield, Iowa in honor of our mother, but it’s not the best because we are looking into the sun!

Do you have someone that you share a language all your own?

Now its your turn. Every time you share one of your sister stories in the next two weeks, you’ll be entered in the drawing for a copy of  When Love Calls for yourself and a matching copy for a sister. Contest closes at midnight, central time on Friday, May 3 and is open to those in the U.S. and Canada. Name chosen by Random.org.

Posted on April 22, 2013 - by Shannon Vannatter

Shannon Too

When the topic of sister’s came up, I was at a loss for a moment. I’m an only child. No sisters. Or brothers. So, I have to go way back for this post. Bear with me.

Shortly before I was born, my parents planned to move to Michigan. Mama knew a woman with a daughter named Shannon. She asked the woman if she’d mind Mama naming me Shannon since me and the other Shannon would probably never know each other.

Twelve years later, we moved back to Arkansas. Seven years later, I married the other Shannon’s brother. Though we look nothing alike, our shared name has confused many over the years. Long ago, I went to my boss’ bank to cash my check because it was closer than my bank. The teller told me she couldn’t cash the check unless Shannon was there. For a long time, our butane deliverer thought my husband and his sister lived in our house. And now, even though her name hasn’t been Vannatter in a really long time, people think my sister-in-law writes books.

For the first few years my husband and I were married, Shannon and I had a good time together. We embarked on exercise plans, went to see a Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton concert, and turned her hair every color under the sun—including Bozo orange. Relax, I was a hairdresser and she’d turned her hair green trying to do it on her own. I had to get it to orange to get the green out. In the end, it turned out a nice natural looking dark brown. Disclaimer: Don’t try this at home.

But then she married a man from Memphis and moved there. Then they moved to Mississippi. During those years, we went to visit each place once. She came here about once a month, but there was never enough time to really enjoy being sisters-in-law.

Last year, she moved back. At first, I didn’t take advantage of the situation. I was used to not having her around. And I run in fifteen directions most of the time with book deadlines on top of everything else. But it finally hit me, my sister-in-law is back and I need to make time for her.

So far, we’ve entertained her grandson and my son on a road trip with my mother-in-law. We’ve gone flea-marketing and shopping. She and my mother-in-law brought our son to visit, when my husband was in the hospital. Together, his sister and I went to pick him up after his release. We’ve stayed after church and just talked.

We’re planning to have lunch soon and maybe we’ll set up a date for me to turn her hair orange just for old-time’s sake.

This time spent together made me realize, I missed her. Who could I possibly have more in common with than my husband’s sister? We both love the same man.

Now its your turn. Every time you share one of your sister stories in the next two weeks, you’ll be entered in the drawing for a copy of  When Love Calls for  yourself and a matching copy for a sister. Contest closes at midnight, central time on Friday, May 3 and is open to those in the U.S. and Canada. Name chosen by Random.org.