Must read original blog post!
http://writerswrite1.wordpress.com/2013/04/17/literary-birthday-17-april-karen-blixen/
Autism video hit close to home
My daughter was born with Autism. No, of course I didn’t know that at the time. It took awhile, and a lot of frustration as the months went by and new things started happening. Violent fits when trying to strap her in a car seat. Watching her run to her room and hide under the bed for hours if we had company. Never quite looking a stranger in the eye. Trips to the store resulted in her hiding under clothes racks or banging her head on the concrete floor until we agreed to leave. Wondering why she could spend hours outside playing with the family dogs, but not other children…
My angels
You see, I had a nephew with Autism. He is what some call “full-blown autistic”. So I didn’t quite make the connection. It just didn’t occur to me that my daughter could have the same thing as him.
Until one day, a friend of mine gave me the number of a local program for kids under the age of 3 with developmental problems. I didn’t make that phone call right away. I knew my daughter was extremely intelligent, just like her siblings. She seemed physically perfect, even quite beautiful. Deep down, though, I knew something was different. Up until this point, I had been blaming myself. What was I doing wrong?! Finally making that phone call was one of the best decisions I ever made.
Someday I will share the rest of this story, and how eventually we realized that my daughter was low on the spectrum (a.k.a. high-functioning autistic). But today I actually just wanted to share this video I came across. It made me want to cry for all those times I just wanted to understand my daughter and nephew but couldn’t…
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=451214254956059
[Let me know if you can't view this!]
If you don’t, they will.
This is such a basic concept, yet such an important one that is often overlooked…
Create an Online Photo Album
Ok, my new #1 inspiration for taking photos & simply stopping to enjoy others’ photos is Trey Ratcliff … AMAZING work. Here is his advice on creating your own photo album online:
http://www.stuckincustoms.com/how-to-make-an-online-photo-album/
What it looks like driving towards Mount Cook _by Trey Ratcliff
BOOK REVIEW: Falling Kingdoms
Falling Kingdoms by Morgan Rhodes
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I appreciated that the Cast of Characters was provided to refer to when starting the book. I admired the fact that not all the twists and turns in the plot were predictable, even though some of them I didn’t like.. While I thought it was a great book, when I finished reading it I felt like I had just read the 1st chapter of a much bigger story. This is a great way to hook readers into reading the next book(s) in a series, but I wish there would have been at least a little bit more triumph at the end of this story…
And just for the record, my daughter Sami is STILL mad at me that I did not warn her how much this book “leaves you hanging” at the end!! Oops. Lol.
2013 Reading Challenges
I've decided to take on 3 reading challenges for 2013. In the years past, these have been personal challenges. This year I hope to actually participate in organized challenges hosted by my fellow bloggers. Here's what I'm challenging myself to read in 2013:
Challenge: The 2013 Reading Challenge
Host: Goodreads
Level: 80 Books
Since I actually start and end my reading challenges on December 15 each year, my Goodreads numbers and my actual numbers are sometimes different.
I think I might do this too! ;-)
