Le freak, c’est chic. Freak out!

Sing it with me…. “Aaaaaaaaahhhhh, Freak Out!” 

Enjoying every moment of non-stress Christmas break, I was spending a To-Do-List-Less day minding my own business, when BAM! 

Actually, I spent about an hour online last Thursday morning choosing a Conversational Spanish class that is offered at a local community college for eight weeks.  I knew it would be hard (due my 42 year old brain… and a 25 year gap from my last Spanish class) and time consuming (twice a week for 3 hours) but I feel like I need to take it before we go to Colombia.  I found the textbook.  I found the school.  I called Rick and informed him that we would need to find a ride to hockey for Keeve for eight Wednesday nights.  OK, then BAM! happened.

I phoned Michelle, my editor in Nashville, to report a printing glitch that was found in one of my books, Laughing in the Midst of Mothering.  (www.LindaCrosby.com) After discussing the hows and whys of printing boo-boos, she casually mentioned that the week before she had presented my next book, Laughing in the Midst of Marriage, to the board of the publishing house and they gave it the thumbs up!   Whooooooo Hoooooooo!  She mentioned September for having it out!  Thrilling!  Yes! 

We hung up… and the Freak Out part started.  Where in the world was the file folder with my “book”?  I was on the phone with my sister while digging through my bedside table, pulling piles out from under my bed, shoveling stuff off my desk.  It only took me about five minutes to locate the collection of stories.  Then I remembered the minor computer faux pas that “hid” my entire computer profile…. including all my writing.  GREAT!  Thanks to my new best friend in the world, Missy’s Ken, the files were recovered… but they are not in a working file.  So today I spent my free time transferring and copying files so I can get down to business.

All that to say, I’m so excited about the marriage book and I won’t be taking Conversational Spanish any time soon.

Linda’s Book Club (like Oprah’s w/o the TV show)

How can you argue with America’s Cheapest Family?  Steve and Annette are fellow homeschoolers whom we met through a clogging class our girls were in together.  They have lived off of less than $35K a year for a LONG time…. with FIVE kids…. in Scottsdale, AZ… no small feat!  Their advice is sound and practical.  Believe it or not, my thrifty husband (to the Nth degree) learned a few tips from these fine folks.  I’m sure he could teach them a few things too…. especially about never buying garbage bags again for the rest of your life.  :o)  Great Book!  If you are looking for penny pinching tips, buy the Economides’ book.

Here is my advice for buying books online:  www.bestbookdeal.com It lists all books that are available online new and used with the prices including shipping.  You will find all these book there.

The Ultimate Book of Homeschooling Ideas puts FUN back in homeschooling (homeFUNschooling).  This 347 page volume is stuffed full of great ideas for games, crafts, learning hints and MUCH MORE for every subject…. PreK-6.  When the doldrums hit at Crosby Homeschool…. I pull this gem of a collection out and smiles return.  The author is Linda Dobson.  A must-have for going-gray homeschool moms.

Sally Stuart is a godsend for up and coming writers.  This book, Christian Writer’s Market Guide, is the book that took me from scribbled journal pages to my first published book, Learning to Laugh in the Midst of Mothering (www.LindaCrosby.com).  I’ve been asked several times how I got my book published and I always send the searching soul to Sally.  This 627 page epic contains all the knowledge you need to find the right publisher, editor, magazine, writer’s conference and LOTS more.  Getting the most current issue is a must.  Sally reprints each year.  I’m thinking of including Sally in my will.

The God I Love is Joni Eareckson Tada’s truly memorable memoir.  This is my all-time favorite biography. Joni’s gift for writing and entertaining is evident from the first story of her dad telling scary stories on the beach, to her diving accident to her current worldwide ministry.  Several years back while we were doing a unit study on people with handicaps, I read aloud parts of this book to my three children.  When I read to them, I often assign a task to keep their little hands from poking each other.  On one particular Joni-biography-day, I gave them pipe cleaners and asked them to make some device that help people who have a handicap.  As I read the story of Joni’s first nights in the hospital when her friend snuck in after visiting hours just to lie beside her, I couldn’t hold back the tears and I got choked up.  The room grew silent… then the busy hands halted to see if I had fallen asleep (again).  The depth of loneliness and despair…. and hope and grace that Joni is able to convey in her book is unsurpassed!  I could read this book every year and still enjoy the stories like it was my first time through.

The pipe cleaners… I knew some of you wondered what the kids made.  Larisa made a two-dimensional wheelchair complete with hand breaks and foot rests…and a person sitting in it.  Austin made crutches. Keeve…. my little Pokey Puppy Keeve… made two little marble-sized blobs.  I asked if he didn’t understand my assignment.  He looked at me in disgust and proclaimed, “These are hearing aids!”