Updates From The World Of The Criminally Cute

The time has come for an update on our adorable nieces and nephews. Not being able to have children of our own right now, Amy and I really especially enjoy our role as aunt and uncle in the lives of five cute little kids, so we're taking this opportunity to share what's going on with them. So here they are in no particular order.

Amy's brother Matt and his wife Deneal have two little cuties: Ashton is 6 and Tally Paix is almost a year old now.

Recently Deneal took them out on a picnic in a huge meadow. I'd love to know just where this is since I lived in that part of California for two years and never saw the like.


Anyway, Tally Paix had a blast eating grass and Deneal got off some gorgous photos of those kids.

Deneal, if you're reading, that eye and that camera could be making you some extra cash.


If I had a kid I'd chuck Sear's portait studio and just have you follow my kids around for a few hours. These photos are just incredible. And hey, there's a lot of money in kid photography. There's gold in them thar diapers. But I digress.

Ashton just turned 6 and this last year Amy and I began our tradition of sending our nieces and nephews as many dollars as they are old along with a card. He made the sweetest call to Amy, leaving a voicemail on her phone that just melted our hearts. "I hope you have a good time hearing me say that I love you . . . as much as I love you!" You just can't beat the sweet sincerity of little kids. Their complete dearth of irony is a gift in this crazy world of ours, at least Amy and I sure think so.

Amy's other brother Jeff has two kids with his wife Crystal: Leo who's also 6, and Ella who's 3.


Unfortunately Ella's had some real health problems with her kidneys. The other day Crystal was explaining to Amy over the phone how they have to keep Ella constantly hydrated to prevent infection. At the sound of the dreaded "h" word Ella shouted "NO HYDRATED!"


I don't think I've ever heard anyone under the age of 10 use that word, let alone a 3-year-old so that was hillarious. Anyway, the poor thing has to go to the bathroom constantly, so she's put herself on the fast track to complete potty training. Good on ya, kiddo. Sorry about all the grief your system's putting you through, but at least there's a silver lining there.


Elanie poses with Devin's dog, Chloe. Yes, Chloe is wearing a shirt. No, Devin didn't put it on her. It's actually a dolly shirt that Crystal put on the dog and tried to get Ella to confess. She wouldn't do it, haha.


Leo continues to be way too resourceful for his own good. While Grandma and Grandpa Spaulding were watching him recently he managed to turn down all the dials on all the refrigerators and freezers.


As a result he inadvertently defrosted a whole turkey. Guess Thanksgiving came early for them! Wish I could have been there, I love turkey.


And last, but certainly not least my Sister Abby's recently-adopted daughter Lorena continues to be cute enough to make the Gerber baby consider a career change.

Speaking of which she just cut her first teeth recently and had her first sleepover at her Grandma Fawcett's (my mom) without her mom and dad. Amy and I spent an afternoon visiting with my mom, my brother, and her. She's very well-mannered and just loves to be in on the fun. I couldn't quit thinking about how nice it was to cuddle her and play with her. We all had our turn with her. She's just a jewel.

Strangely enough Abby reports that when Lorena got home all she wanted to do was be held and play.

Wonder why. Hmmm. It's a mystery.

-Tom

Million Words Update - Day . . . Who Knows

"You must stay drunk on writing so reality cannot destroy you."

-Ray Bradbury

I'm coming to the end of another long and harrowing week of hardcore writing. Both my bad and good days are resulting in higher word counts and I continue to chip away at my deficit. I've committed to reach for 25,000 words a week in an effort to close that gap as soon as possible. I haven't quite reached that this week, but I've come darn close.

I'm starting to notice what Bradbury means about staying drunk on writing. When I come away from a good string of speedy drafting sessions I feel what I can only describe as a buzz in my head. It's both exhillirating and exhausting. I've been known to take ten or fifteen minute naps between writing sprints. Sometimes the process just knocks me out.

Now, I've never been drunk, but I now know for a fact that writing can make you feel drunk in a manner of speaking. I feel dizzy with the feeling of achievement, but beyond that I can feel impulses dancing across my corpus collosom in a flood of electricity that only comes from sustained creative effort. As tiring as it is, it's a feeling I think everyone should earn the privelage of experiencing in their lives.

I'm in the sunset of my current novel, trying to wrap up Act III in a barn-burning conclusion. Meanwhile I rather marvel at how this kind of sustained effort grows my writing skills. I've been interested in writing for a long time, and I've read a lot of books on the subject. In fact, I highly recommend Ray Bradbury's life-changing book called "Zen In The Art Of Writing." But no number of books on writing or classes can make up for the concrete experience of pulling pages upon pages of words down from out of the ether, putting them down forever in black and white.

I still question sometimes if this is more than I can do. The answer is always "No," at the end of the day, but I have my moments. I don't deny for a second that what I'm attempting here borders on the insane, but I have a persistent feeling inside pushing me on, telling me over and over again "It will be worth it."

Well, enough gassing on. Time to belly up to the bar again. Cheers!

-Tom

On The Road to 1,000,000 - Month 2 of 12

I'll bet you thought I'd forgotten all about my goal, didn't you? I obviously didn't. Granted, it's only the second month and I'm considerably behind, but I have the whole rest of the year to make up the deficit.

I've been working hard each day. It really helps the word count to have a few projects going at the same time, but my current novel is taking up most of my word count. It's tentatively titled "Empty Beds" and I plan on having a draft done in the next week or two, certainly before the end of the month.

That'll mean one novel down, nine to go! And one of those will be NaNoWrimo, so that barely counts. It was a novel I was planning on writing anyway.

I should mention here that Amy's been charging ahead with her own writing goals herself. A million words for her this year isn't quite in reach since she doesn't also write to pay the bills like I do, but she's working every bit as hard as I am, if not harder given her circumstances.

Her goal is to finish the second draft of her novel from last NaNoWriMo by her birthday on April 25th. She's worked her fingers to the bone on a good outline and she's been drafting her fingers off at night after work. It's good to not be alone in reaching for writing goals and she's learning a ton from the experience. Amy's boldly declared that her novel, a young adult urban fantasy, will be a best-seller when it's done. She's got a great head for story, so I know she's capable.

I've often compared learning writing to my mission for the LDS church. When I first got out in the field I was eager to improve, but I got frustrated when the methods and principles taught at our training meetings weren't translating to better results. Then one day, about eight or nine months in, I realized that I was almost unconsciously doing the things they had trained us to do. I didn't even have to think about it anymore.

With each of my novels so far I've done what I know how to do, trying to push the limits of my abilities, and have found them sorely lacking. But lately, as I've been writing this novel I've realized that my story telling skills are improving dramatically. Since this novel is based on one little idea, I'm basically letting the novel take me where it wants to go, working without a net or an outline of any kind. It's like a divining rod dragging me around the story. I guess I'll soon see where it's taking me.

For the past year or so I've had faith that my skills with fiction would improve with practice. My feelings about it didn't go any further than that, however, since I wasn't working to my potential to practice it and develop my projects. Now that I'm working hard it's a lot of fun to begin to see some results.

Maybe if I keep drafting like a mad man I'll be able to draft a book one of these days, tweak a few things and correct the spelling and I'll have a bestselling page-turner on my hands.

Meanwhile I'm still working on the discipline to keep up with my weekly word count goal of 20,000 words: no easy task, but I'm getting much better.

Thanks for your support and comments.


-Tom

Gunn News

We're behind folks. We've both been working our tails off on novels, I've been working on articles (as always) and doing what I can to break into magazines. These aren't excuses (if they were, they'd be lame), but they are reasons, so thanks for your patience. Each of these events probably deserve a whole post, but instead I'm just going to give you a bunch of mini-posts with photos that apply. Enjoy catching up with us.

*Massage Envy Party In The Sky

It finally came. Amy's boss Shawn warned us months ago that there would be a big formal gala at the Harbor club in Bellevue on the 25th floor. This was the company holiday party, held late to keep the clinic doors open during the holidays.

Why a big formal party?

Shawn's just cool like that. Renton Landing Massage Envy busted records for a clinic that's only been open for a year, smoking the region and most of the country in sales. It's exciting for Amy to be a part of it, and she's definitely pulled her weight there. Her massage bad-assery has earned her a significant raise and may lead to a promotion in the next year. Her work ethic is an inspiration both to me and her co-workers/future underlings.

Anyway, it was fun to get dressed up extra nice, eat some great food, meet some nice people, and watch those nice people drink free booze. Thanks, Shawn for a great evening, even though we were glad to have it over with.

*The Art of Manliness

I'm reluctant to talk about other's blogs on our own blog, but I must say this particular blog, The Art of Manliness, easily deserves attention here. From the bio it looks like it was started by an LDS guy from Oklahoma in response to the fact that most so-called men's magazines were really aimed, not at real Men, but at adolescents of all ages.

The stuff on this blog ranges from the life-transforming to the mildly interesting. But since I discovered it about ten days ago I don't think a day has gone by where I didn't look in and explore it. It's apparently a huge success with thousands of subscibers and it's easy to see why. The posts are clean, the subjects have daily relevance, and ANYONE, man or woman, can benefit from it. I'm already wondering how I ever got through life without it.

Check it out: www.artofmanliness.com

*Ryan Comes Home!

Amy's brother Ryan stepped off the plane just this week from Africa wondering how he ever managed to grow up in the massive snow drift that is rural Utah right now. He probably felt like he had just arrived on the ice planet of Hoth (sadly, without the awesome Imperial walkers).

I can only imagine what he's going through right now, but I know he's got some readjusting to do. From what I understand he's got a new appreciation for the USA and how blessed we are to live here. His return served as a good reminder that, no matter how poor I think I am, I'm Scrooge McDuck swimming in dabloons in terms of all the blessings I enjoy.

Thanks Ryan. It's good to have to back. We look forward to seeing you next month and hope you find the temperatures up here more hospitable, if only slightly.



-Tom

Christmas 2009

We all seem to be living under the old Chinese curse that goes "May you live in interesting times." Amy and I have certainly been no exception. 2009 was an unusual year for a number of reasons. The United States inaugurated its first black president. Unemployment rose in record proportions. The American healthcare system changed in radical ways that even the politicians who made the change don't completely understand.

On a more personal level, Amy and I moved out of state for the first time since we've been married and I spent Christmas with my entire immediate family. The last time that happened it was still the 20th century. It was the Christmas of 1996 when my parents announced their decision to get a divorce and all five of us haven't been together for Christmas since. Through marriage or adoption that number has grown to eight of us; additions who are all warmly welcomed and deeply appreciated.

My parents have developed a cordial relationship. I was afraid that things would be awkward, but everything had an eggnog-like smoothness and sweetness. We're not drinkers, but my parent's new granddaughter seemed to serve as a good social lubricant for all of us. On Christmas Eve we sang carols together and read the Christmas story. My father played the piano for us, just as he used to when we were all much younger. Some of us voiced the opinion that we had - almost - picked up right where we had left off as a family.

Yesterday I remembered in an old place deep inside the primal joy that comes from the feel of the strong and yet fragile smoothness of wrapping paper on boxes full of treasures and delights, and the raw pleasure of tearing off the wrapping and finding surprises that may turn out to be only tokens, but give lasting satisfaction. It's strange how my parents turned out to be right about giving being a greater pleasure than getting as I've gotten older, but giving is pleasure stretched out over the month running from Thanksgiving to Christmas. The morning of Christmas is a time to receive, and it's still sweetly satisfying. Everyone managed to stay occupied and entertained throughout the day.

Amy and I had the pleasure of showing my Dad our new apartment home. We found a new appreciation for where we live, showing off the amenities of our brand new place, rediscovering each as we went. We shared the hot-tub with my sister Abby and my Dad; the first time Amy and I had ever shared it with anyone. We came out feeling as though we had just enjoyed a massage.

When we fell asleep last night we felt as though the world had a new shine on it that hadn't been there before, like an old car with it's "new car" smell restored.

Things are still imperfect. Our times will probably still continue to be interesting. I have chosen to take the liquory taste of gourmet chocolate, the warmth of a fire, the sounds of my father's piano-playing, and the smiles of my new niece as good omens for the year 2010.

-Tom

One Meeelion . . . Words!

That’s right folks. I’ve set a goal for the year 2010 to write no less than 1,000,000 words.

The reason for this announcment? Accountability.

As many of you know, my wife and I have been participating in National Novel Writing Month (www.nanowrimo.org) and each year we’ve announced to everyone we know that we’re doing it. This is because we need the social pressure to make sure we meet our goal of writing a 50,000 word work of fiction in a single calendar month.

This situation is no different.

You should know that not every one of those 1,000,000 words will be fiction. I also write non-fiction for my living and those words will be counted as well.

This breaks down to about 4,000 words a day, about five days a week for the whole year. At my usual pace, this works out to at least two hours of sustained drafting each day, or less when you factor in my daily work. This is very do-able for me!

I came to this resolution when I heard an unwritten rule that professional writers have to write at least 1,000,000 words before they can be truly successful. Of course there are exceptions, but I totally see the logic. It’s sort of the writer’s equivalent of the 10,000 hour-rule presented in the book Outliers.

According to some, this work is necessary to learn just how bad a writer you are, and gives you the time to work out all your demons and issues. After that, the bad writing is out of the way and you can move on to the good stuff!

I’m excited to see the results.

To help ensure success I’m committing to incremental goals that will help me get to 1,000,000. I plan on entering the L. Ron Hubbard Writers and Illustrators of the Future contest (www.writersofthefuture.com) every quarter. I plan on drafting 10 full-length novels in the course of next year. I’ll write for my business blog faithfully every single week.

I’m sure as I get closer and as I move through the year I’ll come up with some other incremental goals, but I think those should make for a good start.

I thank all of your for your interest, support, and (should I decide to chicken out) merciless ridicule.

To 1,000,000 words! Here I go!

-Tom

Knitting real lace

So tonight I finished my first lace shawl. I call it my first, even though technically I knitted up a couple less involved and shorter lace scarves last year. I was proud when I finished those earlier projects, but when I look back at them now, I can see how simple they really were.

When you have a piece of lace that hasn't been blocked, it literally looks like a rumpled old bag; definitely nothing to be impressed with. The blocking process, however, changes that dramatically. I forgot to get any pictures of the shawl before I blocked it, but here is one of the actual blocking.



To block a piece of lace, you first have to soak the finished piece in cool water with a touch of wool wash (I just use a mild detergent, since I haven't actually gotten around to buying any wool wash). You have to completely soak it, and if the yarn is thicker it takes awhile to get completely soaked through. For this project I used a lace weight yarn (alpaca and silk blend), so I only soaked it for about ten or fifteen minutes.



After the piece is soaked through, you need to squeeze the excess water out of it. You don't want to wring it out, because it can distort or felt the lace, and that would be bad. You squeeze it gently, trying to get out what you can with your hands, and then you roll it into a towel, squeezing out as much as you can that way.

After you get the excess water out, you need to set the shape you want the lace to stay in. They recommend using a blocking board with lines and measurements printed on it so you have a guide as you're laying out your piece to block. I used a piece of foam and measuring tape. You take pins and create whatever shape you want to form with the piece, making sure you get the measurements right and spread out the pattern to show it off best. With scallops like this piece has, it doesn't take that many pins. With straight edges, however - like the scarves I did last year - you can never have enough pins. You don't want to leave any crescents in a line that's supposed to be straight.

After you set the shape the way you want it, you need to wait for the lace to dry completely. With the wool I used last year, that took quite awhile - it was at least twelve hours before I felt safe unpinning it - but with this lace weight piece I only had it set for a couple of hours before unpinning it again.


After this process, the piece of lace will hold its shape until I decide to clean it (or, I suppose, get it very wet). At that point, I'll just take the lace through the blocking process again.

I am completely blown away by the beautiful drape this shawl has; it's way better than I could have hoped for. I think I picked a great yarn, and though there are many mistakes in the piece I knit up, I am very proud to be on this end of that process. I'm looking forward to wearing this shawl this winter!



-Amy