Beauty Tips

For attractive lips,
speak words of kindness.

For lovely eyes,
seek out the good in people.

For a slim figure,
share your food with the hungry.

For beautiful hair,
let a child run his fingers through it once a day.

For poise,
walk with the knowledge that you never walk alone.

People, even more than things,
have to be restored, renewed, revived, reclaimed, and redeemed;
never throw anyone away.

Remember, if you ever need a helping hand,
you will find one at the end of each of your arms.

As you grow older,
you will discover you have two hands;
one for helping yourself,
and the other for helping others.

--Audrey Hepburn

Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day to all my friends and family...

Yeah, I know this post is early, but the week is a busy one, so I'm taking time now to send this one out; ...because I'm truly thankful for the sources of love in my life that flow like fountains.

Here are some favorite quotes.

"Each friend represents a world in us, a world possibly not born until they arrive." -- Anais Nin

"I love you, not only for what you are, but for what I am when I am with you." -- Roy Croft

"A single rose can be my garden...a single friend, my world." -- Leo Buscaglia

"Friendship isn't a big thing--it's a million little things." -- unknown

"Love is a condition in which the happiness of another person is essential to your own." --Robert Heinlein

"A hug is worth a thousand words. A friend is worth more." -- unknown

"A good friend is hard to find, hard to lose, impossible to forget." -- unknown

"If I could reach up and hold a star for every time you made me smile, I would have the whole night sky in the palm of my hand." -- unknown

"Walking with a friend in the dark is better than walking alone in the light." -- Helen Keller

"Love, actually, is all around us." -- from the movie, Love Actually

And because I enjoy writing and reading stories, I'll list some of my favorite books/movies touching on love and friendship.

Tristan and Isolde (James Franco)

Pride and Prejudice (Colin Firth)

The Lake House (Sandra Bullock, Keanu Reeves)

The Proposal (Sandra Bullock)

Titantic (Leonardo DiCaprio)

While You Were Sleeping (Sandra Bullock)

Love Actually (Hugh Grant)

The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks

The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare

Jane Eyre by Jane Austen

Vanishing Acts by Jodi Picoult

The Saving Graces by Patricia Gaffney

Happy Valentine's Day!

52nd Grammy Awards and 2nd Bear Lake Retreat

Have you ever thrown a fist full of glitter in the air?

A productive and fun writer's retreat at Bear Lake was capped off with the 52nd Grammy Awards. My favorite performance of the evening was Pink's "Glitter In The Air."

Despite the fact that an offer to publish a project that Rick and I had been working on was withdrawn right before our retreat, Rick and I managed to pick up my spirits and co-write another fun manuscript. Hope blooms eternal!

We were also treated to Randall Wright reading the first 10 chapters or so of his next novel, which he co-wrote with Carmen Deedy. I can't wait to see this manuscript in print. It's sooooo good. I know my kids will love it!

All in all, the company and time spent together, along with the impromptu guitar-playing and late-night conversations, were fantastic. And to think I managed to get through the weekend this time without fainting, proving it was not Rick, nor Mark, who have that effect on people. Plus, having an unexpected foot and a half of fresh powder for me to ski in at Beaver Mountain before I headed back down Logan Canyon served as icing on the cake!