Turning Ten

Last weekend my son turned 10, and we celebrated his birthday with a trip to the planetarium.


My wife and son sitting on a Mars landscape:

Me and my son on the moon (I'm waving to Neil Armstrong):

My son on a Mars landscape:


A random girl wearing a Pikachu costume and backpack (I thought it was funny so I took a picture):

My son and nephew playing with the plasma ball (he later bought a smaller version at the gift shop and absolutely loves it):


My son and nephews:


After we came home from the planetarium, we invited a few family members over to our house for pizza, cake and ice cream.

My son playing with his plasma ball:

Singing happy birthday:

Smiling because he's about to eat cake :)

Candlelight

It was an exciting week at our house because my daughter's first novel arrived from the printer. She and a friend have been working on it for two or three years, and I told her that if she finished it I would edit it for her and have it professionally bound and printed. The project turned out to be more involved than I expected (it took about 6 weeks), but it was also more fun than I expected. I'm not a professional editor or writer, but I enjoyed the process of reformatting the book and cleaning up grammar mistakes. I also enjoyed looking for and patching up plot holes, but mostly I just enjoyed reading the story while I was editing it.

The book is about several "catagron" siblings (they are a cross between cats and dragons) who are being hunted by their evil dragon grandfather. The catagrons have special abilities such as flying, seeing the future in dreams, healing, and breathing fire. There are several fight scenes (my wife said she was surprised about how violent it was, but I think it makes the story better). At one point while I was editing I had to draw a map of the battle to determine where all of the characters were. There is also a heartbreaking but beautifully written scene toward the end of the book (my son said he almost cried while reading it, and I was quite moved myself).

When I initially researched the costs associated with self-publishing, I determined that it would probably cost about $70, so I was gratified to discover that, because the book was shorter than I expected (99 pages) I was able to publish it and order 2 hard-bound copies for only $40. I decided to use lulu.com to publish the book. Their web site was user-friendly and simple. However, the night I published the book I was up late and accidentally spelled the name of my daughter's friend wrong on the cover. Here is what the first version looks like:


The next day I realized my mistake and tried to cancel the order, but it had already been sent to the printer. So with my daughter's help I created a new and improved cover and ordered 2 more copies. This is what the final version looks like:


Here is an example of one of the interior pages:



And here is what the back of the book looks like (it features a poem that is found at the end of the story):


Here is the text of the poem:

He rules the cloudy midnight sky

With the evil glow of amber eyes

And dawns the world in flickering shine

The glow of the candle’s light.

Till then anew a hero will rise,

The world will war from day to night

And in the midst of raging fight—

Still will be a candle bright.

And all the world shall never hide

Again from fear, from terror’s flight

For one brave hero bears the light—

He bears the Candlelight.

The next time I publish a book I'll definitely take a little more time before submitting the final version (and have someone else review the author's names to make sure they're spelled correctly on the cover!) I'll also change the spacing and the font. I used double-spacing, but apparently the lines are closer together in most professionally printed books, and the font I chose--Garamond--just didn't look as nice as I would have liked. I also made a mistake while numbering the chapters (there are two chapter 16's) and I made a few other minor errors that the people who have read it so far have pointed out to me. I think next time I'll print a copy of the manuscript and perform a final "paper" revision before submitting it for printing. But overall it was an enjoyable experience and I hope my daughter will write another novel soon so I can do it again!

The Beauty of Winter

There's nothing quite like waking up to a soft white blanket of newly fallen snow, and this year there really has been nothing like it! Rather than lament the absence of snow, however, I decided to make the most of it by doing something I've never done before: visiting Bridal Veil Falls in the winter.

The trail to the falls, like everything else this season, was snow-free, but there were a few spots with some pretty slippery ice (I almost fell once or twice):


I took this picture while standing in front of the falls:


And I took this picture of the creek near the falls:


It was truly a privilege to be surrounded by so much Beauty while I was taking these pictures! I will treasure them always.

On Saturday (New Year's Eve) I had the opportunity to go cross-country skiing at Sundance with my youngest daughter and my dad. I've been skiing there since I was 7 years old--long before it was an official resort. It's a special place filled with special memories.

I was amazed at how much endurance I had while skiing (probably due to the fact that I've been running three times a week for the past several months) and had an absolutely fantastic time.


My daughter and my dad:


Me trying to give my daughter the "bunny ears":


After we finished skiing, a neighbor came over and helped me put my basement carpet back down (it's finally dry from our water heater leak), then in the evening we invited my wife's sister and her family and my friend Pam over for a New Year's Eve party. We played a new game we got for Christmas called "Headbands" (you wear a headband and put a card on it that says something like "Britney Spears" or "Disneyland" or "Venice." Everyone else can see the card, but you can't, and it's your job to ask the right questions and guess what it is.

Here is a picture of me and Pam and my 4-year-old niece:


I have a feeling 2012 is going to be an amazing year. Hopefully there be a little less "drama" than last year, but whatever happens I'll find ways to be happy. I plan to love more, to drink more deeply from the cup of life, to strengthen my relationships with the people that matter most to me, and to be more kind and generous. I plan to continue to develop my talents and share them with others, to remain calm and confident even in the midst of storms, and to surround myself with as much Beauty as possible.