Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween Everybody!!




Well I hope your week of pumpkin carving, and figuring out costumes went well. It went pretty well on this end of things, I was able to put together the final touches on Friday night. 


The week started out with both the hubby and I feeling pretty rough, not the best timing with a show to do at the end of the week! Not to mention it puts a slow down on the project of "what will be my new beautiful bathroom"!

On the bathroom front, we now have jets! Jets that work, and don't leak! Yay! Now, after a few more test runs, we can build the skirting and finish up the rest of the room!!!!!!! Almost there!


On the book front, I am still not so patiently waiting for news about both the Lexi puppets, and the book review thingy.  Waiting. I'm really hoping they want to move forward with the puppets right away, I've had phone calls from people wanting to order them already. I'm taking that as a promising sign. Maybe I should email the broker and let them know of the demand, it might nudge things in my favor, right? Or, is that being too pushy? Not sure what to do.

I did get an email from McNally this week to drop off another dozen Lexi's. They were sold out of both books in Winnipeg again! They still had enough Crazys in stock at the Saskatoon store to send some ahead, but needed more Lexi's to ship.  Blows my mind!!!!


So that brings us to the Halloween show last night.  Health wise, I wasn't quite up to 100%.  Yeah, I don't normally work up a sweat just holding a mic, and definitely don't usually run short of breathe from singing like I've just run for miles! Had a few wobbly moments, but it all turned out fine. Thankfully my hubby was feeling better. It would not be a good thing if we both felt like crap for a show!


The costumes last night were awesome! There were pirates and aliens, wizards and cowboys, devils and skeletons, even Mary Poppins made an appearance. I'll be posting some pics on our Rainbow Entertainment Facebook page if you want to take a peek at our evening.

Now, for the upcoming week. 

Monday, we need to get home in time for Trick or Treaters. If not, I might have to get the neighbour to hand out our candy.


The rest of the week, I need to get everything ready for the two day Mistletoe trade show in North Battleford next weekend. I'm really looking forward to it. My oldest daughter is coming along as a helper, plus my awesome friend, Dana is going to be helping as well. I can't say it enough, THANK YOU DANA!
She will be helping, hosting, playing chauffeur. An incredible friend!

Now, I don't want to mislead you. The trade show will not be all work and no play. There could very well be gratuitous consumption of cocktails, Saturday evening, when another old friend will be joining our little group. All in all, it promises to be a great time. I can't wait!

Well, that's it for now. Have a great Halloween, and an awesome week to follow.

Thanks so much for reading these ramblings. To everyone who reads from Brazil, to Australia to the UK to here at home, thank you.

Until Next Week,


May any ghosts and goblins visiting your home, be of the harmless, munchkin variety.
May they be so cute, you forget you're basically handing candy to door to door beggars as charity.

May your bowl of treats be bottomless, and your trick or treaters be sweet and polite.
May you avoid getting toilet papered, soaped, or egged, by handing out "good" treats that night.

May your doorbell stop ringing at whatever time you would like to call it a day.
May all the kids in your neighbourhood be tired by then, may they all have hit the hay.

May you have a great Halloween enjoy it, take it in, all you ghouls and boys.
May you just know that if you shop, Nov.1st, you'll be hit with Christmas noise!

See you next week!

www.margyreidbooks.net

A Week Like No Other!

Hi everyone!

Well, this week went pretty great.

I had my readings in Outlook on Monday, and it went really well. I had two groups, Kindergarten and grade one, (approx. 50 kids) and grades 2 and 3 ( another 50). While I was there, I received a great tour of the school. It's very unique with a completely open concept, the library being the center and heart of it all. The kids enjoyed the stories and really loved it when I passed the puppets around afterward for them to have a look. I was asked to come back to the classrooms following the readings to get some pictures taken with the kids. They were pretty giggly when, as the teacher was lining up the shot and counted ...1...2..3 I told them to say "stinky feet" instead of "cheese." It was a lot of fun.

Then, on Tuesday, it was off to North Battleford. There I had 145 kids from kindergarten to grade 3. They came from different schools in the area, and for some of them, as one teacher told me, it was there very first field trip. Imagine, I was there first field trip! Who'd have thunk it!

The library there has a kind of auditorium. It has theater seating in around. It was soo cool! I couldn't post any pictures as they all show some munchkin faces, and I really can't put them on my blog without parental permission. Another thing I've learned. To show backs of heads, maybe a slight profile is ok, just not faces. It's for their protection. That is more than fine by me.

I tell you, it was pretty incredible to hear 145 excited little voices jumping in with the......again, in Lexi, and the .......but instead, in Crazy Day! It floors me when I let myself think about it. This is really happening, this is actually my life, I really get to do this! Unbelievable!

The next morning, it was off to an  elementary school in Battleford. The public library was the official host of the event, but instead of trekking the kids from the nearby school to the library they invited the preschool kids that come to the library, to the school instead.

This is the place depicted in the photo. The age range here was about 18 months old to grade 4. There were about 60 kids and the reading took place right after recess. One word.....adrenaline.  They were a great group. While I was reading Lexi, one of the times where she changes her clothes....again, one little guy asked me how I know that's what happened.  I just told him "because I wrote it." Everyone had a little giggle and we moved on. Not easy getting heckled by 6 year olds!

All in all, it was a great trip, the books and puppets were a hit, it was great to catch up with a dear friend once again, and to top it off, the weather was amazing!

Since I've gotten home, I did get the Disaster relief thing sent off, tried to get some house stuff done around this construction mess I call a home, and did some laundry. I still haven't tackled the Halloween Costume problem and really need to take care of that, the show is Saturday night!

Before I leave you, I just wanted to share a little story about the three old little man who is my grandson.

The other evening, at the supper table, his Mom was trying to get him to eat his vegetables, which is always a bone of contention with this young man. He looked up at her and said " But Mom, I can't eat these veggies." She, of course, asked him why not. His reply," I can't eat them because vegetables are oppressing." Now, trying very hard not to laugh, my daughter asked him, "Oppressing, do you even know what that means?"  His answer, " Yes, it means I don't like them and you are going to make me eat them anyway!"

Yeah, kids are way smarter than we give them credit for, 99% of the time!


Well folks the upcoming week will involve:

Halloween stuff, work, bathroom, Halloween, work, bathroom etc. Hey, if you have any brilliant costume ideas, please let me know!

P.S. Could very well have jacuzzi bubbles and a door by the end of the day! Getting closer!!!!!

On a more serious note, we all know that October is Breast Cancer awareness month, and this time around, I was brought face to face with a situation in which a wife and Mom of two young boys found herself in surgery fighting this horrible disease.

My heart goes out to her and her family and all of the families in the clutches of this horrific thing. Hopefully someday soon, an actual cure, or better yet, a prevention will be discovered. Let's hope.


Until Next Week,


May you find strength you never knew you had, and fight with everything you are.
May those around you give the support you need, be it an ear, a shoulder, a sharing of a scar.

May you accept the support without hesitation, for it takes courage and not weakness to embrace it.
May you set aside the supermom syndrome we all suffer from at times, put down the cape, release it.

May you come back from this, healthy and strong, and take back your long and happy life.
May you be able to spend the rest of your days on this earth who you are, a strong and loving Mom and wife.



www.margyreidbooks.net

Sometimes You Just Gotta Wait!

Hi!


Well...... I did it.  I sent my proposal for my Lexi puppet to the toy broker.  Now I have to be patient as I won't hear anything back around or until the end of November. This could go one of three ways.

1) They tell me it's a completely dumb idea hasn't got a snowball's chance in hell and will never fly......
2) They tell me she has potential, she just needs a little tweaking here and there, but the idea is solid...
3) They tell me it's a go, and they are ready to move forward right away.

Needless to say, I'm hoping for number 3. It would be incredible to see Lexi on the shelves at  Toys R Us next Christmas!  I look at it this way, 3 years ago I never in my wildest imagination would have ever thought I would have one, let alone two books on my very own shelf at McNally Robinson. I never thought I would be travelling to different schools reading my books to kids. You never know what can happen until you put it out there. The worst case scenario?  They say no. I can live with no. But, I've never been very good at the whole woulda coulda shoulda thing. I would rather make sure I've done everything I can, then if it doesn't work, it doesn't work, but not because I was too scared to go for it.

I truly believe the only failure is to not try. I think it's the biggest disservice we do to ourselves. Don't get me wrong, there are times when those little nigglings of doubt still whisper very loudly in my ear, telling me that a high school educated, mom of 4, from small town Saskatchewan has no business with these grand ideas.............I'm getting better at telling it to shut up and bugger off.

Wow.....well that took quite a serious type turn, now didn't it?!

On a lighter note we finished the disaster relief application, I just need to get it witnessed by the town administrator and send it off. Apparently they can take up to a year to pay out, if they choose to pay out at all, so, yeah, more patience is needed.

Also this week, I emailed the guy at CM Magazine, (they will be reviewing Lexi and Crazy) and found out the process could take a few months. You guessed it........more patience.

I haven't made any headway on Halloween costumes yet. We may just have to throw together something from the tickle trunk. Maybe a combination of past costumes.... a cop lounge singer, perhaps? A Vampire surgeon? Zombie angel? It'll come to me I'm sure.

Oh, and I wouldn't want to leave you without an update on what will be my new beautiful bathroom. We now have water and sewer! Yay, no more 100 mile treks in the middle of the night to the downstairs bathroom! Woot!

Now, before you get too excited, I should tell you that we are having a couple of small leaking issues, but we should have those fixed up today. All this with only one injury inducing incident. While the hubby and I were diligently gluing the sewer lines together in the basement, one section, yet to be glued, fell and hit me square on the melon. Yep, should have a nice purple, off center unicorn horn for my readings this week.

First a lego black eye, then, the drywall knock on the back of the head, now the sewer unicorn horn. I'm pretty sure there's a country song in there somewhere.

So, now for the upcoming week.

Monday morning, I have 2 readings in Outlook.
Monday afternoon pack for the Battlefords.
Tuesday, drive to North Battleford for afternoon reading.
Tuesday night visit with dear friend.
Wednesday, reading in Battleford. Head home.
Thursday, get the disaster relief application in the mail, rehearse for Halloween show.
Friday: Costumes!
Oh yeah, and bathroom!

So my friends, until next week. Thanks so much for reading these ramblings, please know it's deeply appreciated.


Til Then,



May you find a surprise $50 in the coat you pull out for the cooler weather
May any weight upon your shoulders be lifted,leaving only that of a downy feather.

May answers to all decisions come easily and be as clear as the air on this Saskatchewan prairie.
May you stick to what's right for you, even though others' opinions, you must carry.

May you taste the freedom of not giving too much power to what other people think.
May you keep in mind, they're just people too, and their answers and opinions just might stink!

Feasting and Flooring!

Hello to all, and a Happy Thanksgiving to all of my fellow Canadians out there!



It's hard to believe it's Thanksgiving weekend already! Now, we will blink and it will be Christmas! I guess time really does fly when you're having fun!



Thanksgiving, a time for reflection, evaluation of priorities, a time to be thankful for all that is good in our lives. A time to be grateful for family, friends, a warm home, clothes on our back, and being able to provide the same for our kids.


Or, it could simply be a time you cherish pigging out on Turkey and Pumpkin pie, either way, it's all good.


As I am sure you've all heard, this week, Steve Jobs passed away. Mr. IMac himself. What an incredible impact he made on our world and the way we function within it. One person changed how millions communicate, listen to music, go to school, wow.  I guess he is a great example for those of us out there who think being one person is somehow inefficient to accomplish anything.


Ok, about the past week.


I'm not gonna lie, this week has been mostly about........you guessed it.... what will soon be my new beautiful bathroom.  It also involved filling a request for a few books ordered from my website, (I still need to find a brilliant, free way of advertising the site!),buying a turkey and dropping it off at my daughter's house, receiving an invitation to to a reading at the school in Major,Saskatchewan, and touching base with places that have already booked visits. Yes between DJ/Karaoke gigs and readings, the calendar is filling up quite nicely.

As for the bathroom........ we have paint and flooring!

Because my first born and her hubby were so kind as to host Thanksgiving this year, (yeah, still have a toilet in my dining room) we are able to really get to it with 3 days off. The tub and shower will hopefully be in place today! And.... functional very soon. Yay!

In the upcoming week:

Prepare for readings on the 17th, 18th and 19th.

Put together a brilliantly, ingenious proposal for the toy broker so they can see that the Lexi puppet IS the next tickle me Elmo! ( it could happen! Don't laugh!)

Finish the application for the Disaster relief people and maybe get reimbursed for some of the damage done to the basement.

Need to find time to rehearse for Halloween show, and start putting costumes together!

Also this week, as with every week within the last few months......... bathroom.


Have a great week and have awesome turkey induced naps!


Until Next Week....


May your days be in technicolor, HD, 3D, each as bright and brilliant as a child's painted rainbow.
May each one demand your full attention, refusing to go by unnoticed, especially if you feel low.

May we recognize the low days as the counterbalance for the great ones, and not let them get us down.
May we understand that a rollercoaster is not much fun if it just stays level on the ground.

May we experience true gratitude for all that surrounds us in our basic day to day.
May we register and take to heart the automatic thank you's we often hear and say.


Take Care!

www.margyreidbooks.net

Turkeys, Toilets, and TradeShows!

Wow, what a week!




First off, let me assure you that I am well aware that the photo I've chosen for this week's blog may be a little, well, off topic. There is a reason for this. Last Sunday, for the Word on the Street Festival, my camera was left sitting on the table, where I was sure to remember to take it.

This weekend, for the Unity Trade Show, I definitely remembered the camera. I even remembered to think to charge it up. Imagine my surprise on arrival, when I discovered the battery was deader than a door nail!

As a result, I have not one single pic from either the Street Festival or the Trade Show. So, instead, I thought I'd take a pic of the tree in my front yard. Hey, if all else fails, you can never go wrong with a photo of autumn leaves!


Now, about the Word on the Street Festival! It was pretty great, I have to say. It is, for the book lovers of the world, an amusement park of the written word. There are booths for every type of book. Ones for children, adults, fiction, non-fiction and a giant space filled with all kinds of graphic novels,

There are poetry slams and improv comedy, and readings by authors on everything from gardening to growing up in a Hutterite colony.

Through it all, Lexi and Crazy found their way into quite a few more homes, and I had the opportunity to share booth space with a Canadian best selling author. Her name is Mary Ann Kirby, the book is I am Hutterite. A really interesting read. She is a fountain of knowledge and, I believe, the first self-published author to become a best seller. Proof it can be done!

I hope Saskatoon is able to host another one next year, I'd love to be part of it again.

The remainder of last week was spent prepping for the Unity Trade Show, wrangling babies, and, of course, working on what will be my new beautiful bathroom.

Bathroom update: the last of the mudding and sanding is being completed and all of the necassary holes are in the floor for water lines and sewer and whatnot. I will hopefully be painting on Wednesday!Yay! (not even a sarcastic yay!)

That brings us to the Trade Show in Unity. It was held on Friday from 3pm-9pm and Saturday from 9am-4pm. I think there were about 60 different vendors selling eveything from jewellery to wooden crafts to organic food, to me, selling books.

My Mom was my helper for the weekend and was a real trooper. she was just getting over a cold and finds it hard to put in the long hours. Thanks Mom!

During the show, a rep from the local paper came and did an interview. Hopefully, I kind of sounded like I had a clue, I guess we'll see when it comes out!

Lexi and Crazy again made their way into several more homes.

Oh, I almost forgot! At the street festival, Mary Ann was able to tell me how I could go about having my books reviewed. To get a favourable review from the National Review Board could be a real stepping stone to other things.  Here's hoping they fall in love with Super Lexi and Chocolate Pudding Baths!

Well folks, that's pretty much it for last week.

This week,
Baby wrangling.
I need to finish drafting letters to the toy broker people.
I hopefully get to paint my bathroom!
I also need to finish up the application to the disaster relief people and get it sent in.
Also on the agenda for the week is to touch base with the lady hosting the Halloween gig we are doing to get details about contests and prizes etc.
Oh yeah, I need to buy a turkey and drop it off at my eldest daughter's house. She and her hubby have graciously offered to host thanksgiving this weekend, as I still have a toilet in my dining room.


Until Next Week!

May your week be filled with contentment, laughter, and love.
May you feel the peace we imagine, when we see the proverbial dove.

May you, in the spirit of giving thanks, perform a random act of being kind.
May the receivers pay it forward to others, and so forth, til the end of time.

May we truly be thankful for every single thing that we are given.
May we understand in our souls, that of "stuff"  I am not refering.


Thanks so much for reading these ramblings!

www.margyreidbooks.net