Y is for Yoda #AtoZchallenge

e-file_Midnight-Opening-web_mediumSo Because, dude…DUH.

Oh, and because I get to go to this awesome Star Wars experience at the Indiana State Museum…and a costume party and…oh yeah.

I’m a total geek.

We have 4 versions of the original trilogy on DVD, and still have the VHS tapes somewhere, too.

Our kids are quite well versed in Star Wars.

If you’re in Indy – you have to go.

If you’re not? Be jealous.

Be very jealous.

Millennium Falcon, here I come!

 

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The A-Z Challenge has over 1900 participants, all blogging from A to Z this month. Check them out and see if you can’t find a few new favorites!!

Tuesday Tales – Yellow {Hybrid}

Hybrid_MEDThe prompt this week was Yellow.

This week Jy and Jdyne make it to the Assembly finally…

Remember, this is a meme with many contributing authors, so make sure to click the link at the bottom of the image to take you to see more!

Anyhow, as always this is un-edited mostly, so forgive any errors. :

Movement across the planes as a phoenix traveled always reduced us to ash. I could sense my father’s discomfort with dissolving into ash, but it was required and he was a king so he didn’t complain.

The great hall of the Assembly was magically protected. None could enter but the assembly, and up to two companions they must bring on their own fire. Our entrance would not be on my father’s fire, but my own power.

That alone would shock them.

The downpour of ash in the middle of the circular room wouldn’t hurt with our hope for dramatic impact, either.

I felt my father lose consciousness once we had scattered across the void, and I let my energy gather him close. Just for fun Spark and I let our energy fly around the room, ruffling their crest’s before we zoomed up into the dome.

While the dragons below us eyed the room suspiciously I drew my father’s ashes in with my own and nudged him to consciousness. The first murmurs below let me know it was time to show ourselves.

Our ashes drifted down slow at first, like flakes of dust catching in the light. As they grew thicker, the dragons around us began to take notice. Green, blue, yellow and red eyes turned toward the growing pile of ash.

A whisper of energy separated my father’s ashes from our own and in a whirl of power and my own red fire he came back into human form. His cheeks flushed, eyes still bright silver, he radiated a new sense of strength like he’d been as revitalized by the experience as I always was.

I grinned and let the fire overtake me to stand tall beside him, Spark perched on my shoulder. “Good morrow, my lords.” I bowed down to one knee, my right hand curled before my forehead in a sign of respect. My inability to fully transform into a dragon had led to a compromise since I had no crest lower in respect to my elders.

“Rise, Child.  You are not their inferior.” My father spoke with warmth and pride I hadn’t heard in years. “They are yours. I hadn’t quite realized what you’re capable of.”

Pride and a bit of embarrassment probably colored my cheeks, but I did as he commanded. “My lords, I have come in hopes of staying your desire to begin a war again. To tell you the truth of what I am, of what the hybrids are. Our kind cannot afford another war, and the human race does not deserve the wrath of Alatus.”

“The truth of what you are is an abomination.” Gardolden, a particularly old and stuffy dragon with bright yellow eyes signifying his ties to the northern lands bristled. His forefeet curled over the edge of his ledge and he crouched as if to pounce. “You came in without the aid of your father. That shows how dangerous you are.”

“I, and my father’s phoenixes are the only beings capable of breaching your magical protection, because we are the only ones descended of a race older than your precious dying dragon magic.” I smiled, and hoped the malice and intent behind my words had their impact. “If I was a threat you’d already be dead. Did you not feel me ruffle your crest before we showed ourselves?”

“Is that a threat?”

“Not yet. Just a point of fact.” I turned my back on the blustering Gardolden, and scanned the dragons behind me. The twelve men along with my father represented the greatest powers on the Wyvern plane. Thirteen total. It stood to reason they were scared.

“The time for secrets is over.” Jdyne’s voice carried through the room without effort and stilled all protest. “I have attempted to protect the princess, your future queen, mind you, for too long. It’s time you learned the truth.”

“A Terran can never be our queen. We told you that years ago, Jdyne.” Sigda, a green-eyed dragon with opalescent scales called from my left. His eastern lands were vast, and he’d always been kind and indulgent of her in her youth. Good to know allegiances were so weak.

“I am more than Terran. More than Wyvern. Perhaps you are just scared, Sigda. Perhaps you all are. Change has never been welcome to the dragons, after all. It took you millennia to give up the Terran plane and let them be.” I lifted my chin, and turned to face the man that once told me stories alongside his son. A son now dead.

“And look what they’ve done with it.” Sigda refused to look at me.

“Your son, and my best friend, Tamyr was lost in our last war, Sigda. At one time you wanted us mated. Now you question my role in our world?”

Sigda’s crest sank flat to his head and his wings fluttered, a huff of steam curling from his nostrils.

“So many of you know me, and you have known Alatus. Will you truly let the inflammatory words of an ill-tempered and jealous one determine our futures? Will you let us battle and destroy what’s left of our world, and let him destroy another plane and its inhabitants because he is power-hungry?”

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Hope you enjoyed it!  Click on the Tuesday Tales badge to see more excellent entries!!

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Zest ‘n Zing ~ A Foodie Battle Royale #Giveaway {CLOSED}

ZestnZing

 

GIVEAWAY CLOSED – WINNER SELECTED

Are you a foodie?

Are you a wanna-be-foodie?

Do you love watching the cooking shows – even better, the cooking competition shows?

Ever fancy yourself a judge on one of those?

Do you like helping out awesome causes like Gleaners Food Bank?

For the second year, Indy is pairing up chefs with local farmers for a cooking competition for Zest ‘n Zing.

And they’ll be picking an audience member to be a judge!

Oooh, and it’s being emcee’d by the Weather Man – Paul Poteet and Jennie Runevitch of WTHR.

I know, I sound a little fan-girl here, but I’m really excited for the opportunity to go to this event, and even more so that I get to give one of you a pair of tickets to go!  That’s right, I’m not just talking about the event, I’m inviting you to join me! (Thanks to Indiana’s Family of Farmer’s!!)

So before I give you tickets, here’s the nitty-gritty details of the event.

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Zest ‘n Zing: A Foodie Event for the At-Home Chef

What it is:  Two teams, each made up of a chef and a farmer, go head-to-head to create a great new dish. The winning chef receives $500.

When it is: May 7, 2013. Doors open at 5PM, the competition begins about 7PM.

Where it is: Eugene and Marilyn Glick Indiana History Center

Cost:  $20 online – and all proceeds go to benefit GLEANERS!  Seriously. How awesome is that?

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So, you want a pair of free tickets to this event, right?  I know you do, because it’s awesome.

So I’m going to make it easy on you.  All it takes to win is one comment.

For that comment, I want you to just tell me what you’re most excited about for the event?  Is it the good food? The thrill of competition?  The possibility of being a judge? Or meeting the farmers that will be there?

The Giveaway will end at 9PM on Tuesday, April 30th.  I’ll contact the winner by midnight through email. You’ll have only 24 hours to respond before I draw another name so I can get the name to IFOF. 

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Disclaimer: I am an IFOF Ambassador and therefore this is a sponsored post. I’ll get the same Zest ‘N Zing tickets as the winner does.  However, while I do blog for good food, good company, and good competition – I don’t sell my opinions. All thoughts and opinions expressed in the post are my own.

X is for X-Ray #AtZchallenge

KKSo X-ray might not be original, but I don’t care.

Some days I wonder how it is that Kennedy doesn’t glow.

I know the exposure levels are ‘minimal’.

I remember the lectures.

I remember the exposure tags when I worked at the vet’s office years ago.

But Kennedy has had so many x-rays in her short 7 year life.

They started around the time she was a year old.

Some X-rays were because of her lungs, and her eventual diagnosis of CF.

Others were for her hypotonia and the possibility of one leg being shorter than the other.

Or her tibial torsion.

And let’s not forget the reflux…oh, and the dysphagia where she had painful swallowing (which we eventually learned was from her inability to chew properly)…which meant about 5 times drinking and eating barium-laced substances and eating in front of a fluoroscope.

She has spent more time in front of X-rays, CT-scans, fluoroscope’s in her 7 years than I have in my entire life.

I’m seriously surprised she doesn’t glow.

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The A-Z Challenge has over 1900 participants, all blogging from A to Z this month. Check them out and see if you can’t find a few new favorites!!

Sweet Saturday Sample 3 – Into a Mirror Darkly

mirrorcovermedAnother Saturday, another sample.

Sweet Saturday Samples are samples of any story, published, unpublished, whatever you like.  Any genre is welcome of any heat level – but the samples themselves are all rated PG-13, so yes, all samples are safe for innocent (or not) eyes.

It’s been quite some time since I brought out Into a Mirror Darkly to show off.  It’s a WIP, and to put it into a genre would be difficult as it spans several. Red is one of my favorite characters to date. She truly kicks butt. It is a first draft of a WIP, so excuse any errors.

I hope you enjoy it.  And don’t forget to check out Sweet Saturday Samples for more samples!

By now Gran should have the silver weapons cleaned of ogre blood, so Red wouldn’t have to feel unprotected for long.  Whether or not Gran had put protection spells on Red’s land meant little.  Magic was too scarce these days to be reliable.  That’s why the damnable clockwork inventions were everywhere – replacing magic.

With a sigh, Red turned to the wall.  In place of a real mirror hung a well-shined metal plate.  No matter much the plate shone, the reflection was still warped and muddled, leaving much to be desired.

She twisted her lips and tapped the lid of a small pot on the shelf below the plate. The internal debate dissipated when she heard a familiar masculine laugh outside.  Without further hesitation she took the extra step to line her eyes with coal and enhance her lips with rich red.

“It’s so rare that I get to say you remind me so much of your sister.” Gran’s voice comforted her while her words twisted a long buried knife in Red’s belly.

“Except we both know I’m nothing like Snow.” Red reached for the brush, but it was snatched out of the way and running through her hair too fast. With just a few brush strokes and a whisper of a spell, Red’s rich auburn hair fell in gentle waves across her shoulders. “We don’t even look alike. Just because I made my lips red doesn’t mean we have anything in common.”

Gran tsked, straightening the clothes Red had scattered in her search for an outfit. “She’s your sister, Rose. Don’t hold such hatred in your heart for blood.”

“Is she really, Gran?  Is she really, truly, my blood?” As usual the question silenced her Gran in ways nothing else would.  At eighty six the woman could boast to rarely ever outright lying.  With another eighty or so years ahead of her if magic hung around long enough, she’d do her best to keep that record.

“Of course she’s blood,” Gran finally admitted.

“Blood. But is she really my sister? Mother always said we were twins, born minutes apart.” Red wrapped a lock of red hair around her finger, thinking of Snow’s jet black hair and ‘pale as snow’ skin.  The opposite of Red’s deep olive skin that turned dark brown in the months the sun shone through the dust clouds.  “And besides appearance we certainly have nothing else in common.”

“You did once.”  Gran set a hand on her arm, the fierce fire of a woman devoted to her family bursting forth in the depths of her blue eyes.  Years of experience lined her features, while the beauty she’d been in youth came out in the high cheekbones and plump lips she still stained daily.  “In the Before.”

“Yes, well in the Before there was magic galore to blind us to such things.  Amazing how hiding the sun has revealed truths, like how much some people are willing to sacrifice for wealth and position.”

“Do not speak ill of your sister.”

“She sleeps in that woman’s castle. The one that killed her own husband, not to mention her niece.” Red snatched her arm back, “Your cardinal rule is to not ignore company isn’t it, Gran? I should go greet Solange.”

Gran’s strength and ferocity faded with the mention of Misty, and she gave a nod, “You’re right of course.  Let’s go join your guest then.”

Red wrapped an arm around Gran’s shoulder and kissed her temple, “Sorry Gran. I don’t like fighting with you. Let’s just try to have a good afternoon. Find out what it is Solange wants so that I can take that head in and collect the bounty.”

“No more ogres for a while, please.  I’m running low on supplies. Protecting all of those bags and cleaning your clothes ate most of them up.” The twinkle returned to Gran’s blue eyes, “Much as I know you like a challenge. Sometimes a challenge can be found right at home.”