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Why I Write
When I write, I draw on my experiences as a woman with a painful past, a rapturous wife and mother, a world traveler, and a spiritualist. For me, writing is an art form. Like an artist, the work becomes more than I imagined it would be. When I set out to write a story with a particular idea or character in mind, words I cannot claim as my own flow from a magical and mysterious place through me and onto paper. The work takes on a life of its own; it is living art. The process fascinates me, satiates me, and makes my life more meaningful. Please read my stories! If you would like to offer me feedback on my work, please click here and sign up for a free membership: https://heftynicki.Writing.com I hope to see you there!
Glittery sig
Blog, Blog, Blog
Artwork by thegirlinthebigbox@deviantart.com, text by me!

Coverart by TheGirlInTheBigBox. Visit her online art portfolio by clicking here: http://thegiriInthebigbox.deviantart.com/



Welcome!



*Star*In 2011, my main focus will be on writing a novel. Since I'm a novice novelist, I've decided to come at the project from different angles, exploring the genre and experimenting with its elements. This blog and its offsite sister blog will be my journals where I attack novel-writing one day at a time.

As I was creating my BlogSpot page, the inspiration for the blog solidified in my mind. I named that blog "One Significant Moment at a Time." In essence, I want to use the format as a reminder to walk through my life with my author's eyes open, taking in the details, feeling the emotions of the day. As moments unfold and I feel their affects on me as a person, a woman, a mother, a sister, a member of the world community, I'll let the writer in me talk about it.

Creative Nonfiction is the genre most fitting to describe what I envision accomplishing here, moreso than blogging or journaling. The style is best suited, I feel, for my ambitions as a novelist.

In addition, Friday entries will not be written by me. Instead, I'll turn the keyboard over to one of the characters in my novel. He or she will relate the events of the day as s/he saw them, through the filter of his or her perception.


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*Up* Click this image to visit my Blog City neighbors! *Up*



*Star* I'd Love Your Help *Star*

If you've read my blog before, and find yourself here again, won't you click this link and check out my BlogSpot?

http://www.nicoleducleroir.blogspot.com

*Star* Leave me a comment there, and I'll send you a WDC token of my appreciation!

*Star* Become a Follower there, and I'll send you a Supportive Merit Badge! -- You don't have to go to blogspot.com each day; in fact, I post much of the same entries here in this WDC blog. But building up a verifiable readership may prove important one day when I'm knocking on literary agent/publishers' doors!

*Right* To Follow, just click "Follow" on the right margin of my blog page. You'll have to sign in using, or create, a Google account (it's free and only takes two minutes!), and then follow the short instructions. It's easy, and I'd appreciate it so much!!


Merit Badges Sent To:

*Bullet**Heart*~Noelle Author IconMail Icon~*Heart**Bullet*
*Bullet**Heart*~sunshine014 (*Left* Where'd Ashy go??)~*Heart**Bullet*
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*Bullet**Heart*~Adriana Noir Author IconMail Icon~*Heart**Bullet*
*Bullet**Heart*~Jeff Author IconMail Icon~*Heart**Bullet*
*Bullet**Heart*~Carol St.Ann Author IconMail Icon~*Heart**Bullet*






2011 Reading Goal = 25 Books in 52 Weeks. To see the list of books I've read so far, CLICK HERE  Open in new Window.





*Star**Bullet* Leave me a comment anytime ~ even on older postings! *Bullet**Star*



Thanks for reading!!






August 31, 2011 at 5:34pm
August 31, 2011 at 5:34pm
#732874
For those who don't know, I spent two weeks this summer in Italy and Malta, and cruised the Mediterranean by private yacht. It was the vacation of a lifetime and I think about it every day since I've been back.

If you're interested in viewing any of my ka-billion photos, here are a couple Facebook photo albums to get you started. And, if we aren't FB friends and you'd like to connect over there, please send me a friend request!

So, without further ado, here are some links:

Italy/Malta Vacation 2011  Open in new Window.

Tuscany 2011  Open in new Window.

Malta 2011  Open in new Window.

More Italy/Malta Pix 2011  Open in new Window.


Happy Hump Day, all!!
To use when signing my newsletters
August 9, 2011 at 10:04am
August 9, 2011 at 10:04am
#731064
I have four sisters, each of whom is as strong and beautiful on the inside as she is on the outside, and pursues her passions with amazing dedication and commitment. Here's proof of that, evident in my sister Heather Green. Check out this newly released video of her:




So proud of her!!
August 5, 2011 at 9:19am
August 5, 2011 at 9:19am
#730737
In an attempt to re-acclimate myself with the regular grind (as my switch is stubbornly stuck on Vacation Mode), I ventured to the grocery store yesterday for milk.

The drive to the nearest store is literally 3-1/2 minutes from my house, which is why I try not to shop there. At any time in the store's 24-hour day I am sure to bump into at least two neighbors; and during peak hours, I find myself leaning on my cart five to eight times and chatting up an extra hour or so that I hadn't allotted to errand-running. Time management is NOT my friend, to start with. So I often shop in a food store farther from my house.

However, since yesterday was just an excuse to get out of the house, I went to my neighborhood Kroger. At the register, I was surprised when the cashier handed me a receipt for milk that was long enough to categorize a week's worth of groceries. She explained the extra type dealt with the ground turkey recall.

Since I use my Kroger card when I shop in the store, the computer was able to spit out all the dates and UPC codes when I bought now-recalled ground turkey. I learned that since February 20, I bought fourteen packages of potentially tainted turkey. I guess I shop at Kroger more often than I realized.

I searched my freezers but found none of this turkey, which means we ate all of it. That's a lot of bullets to dodge.

But here's the thing I'm most struck by: The recalled turkey came from one processing center. "On August 3, Cargill recalled 36 million pounds of fresh and frozen ground turkey products produced at the company’s Springdale, Ark., facility from Feb. 20, 2011, through Aug. 2, 2011, due to possible contamination with Salmonella Heidelberg." (Source  Open in new Window.) That same turkey has been sold under the following brands:

Honeysuckle White
Giant Eagle
Aldi’s Fit & Active
Fresh HEB
Riverside
Kroger
Safeway
Shady Brook Farms
Spartan
Natural Lean
Bulk packed ground turkey

So I realized that when I pay $1.50-2.50 more per pound for Honeysuckle or Shady Brook Farms turkey, I'm getting the exact same product as if I spent less money on the store brand.

Friends, I've helped fund those company's marketing campaigns for the last time. Lesson learned!



*Smile* Happy Friday!
August 4, 2011 at 10:36am
August 4, 2011 at 10:36am
#730664
My body has returned to the States but my mind is still on vacation. It's a bit like I've been scuba diving in Paradise Sea and my swim to the surface is painfully slow. Don't want the bends, you know.

I thought a lack of Internet connection would cause me stress. Turns out, the worst part is getting back into my desk chair. I've missed all my cyber-besties! But for days now I can't stay motivated for more than ten minutes at a time before my mind wanders and I stare, blankly, for who-know's-how long.

I have a Drama newsletter to write though. So today I'll push myself. Kick my fins. Break the surface and breath fresh air.

....ummm....I'll brew another cup of coffee first. THEN, I'll be ready.

Maybe.

*Bigsmile**Yawn*


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