The Pizza Made By Tiny Hands...

Hi!


Well, you haven't lived until you've tasted a pizza made by tiny hands.



These little moments, the pizzas, the hill slides, the bowl licking, the movie-watching snuggle piles, the sleepovers, these are sadly, fleeting. They give way to extracurriculars, friends, and school activities. Their lives fast outgrowing Grandma's lap.


So, as the big world spins with all of its importance, I'm going to take a beat.


The protests, the viruses, the stock market, the political unrest, all of it will be here when my beat is over.



In the meantime...


Once Broken was invited to participate in a contest wherein the top vote-getter's chances of being optioned for a movie can improve exponentially.


I finished in a solid fifth position. Not the top, but a long way from the bottom. (Thank you for voting!)

I try really hard not to attach any kind of expectations to things like this because they are such a crapshoot. But, I'm human, so, of course, I do.

It's hard not to be a bit disappointed, a little deflated.

I know the disappointed deflation will be short-lived. If I've learned anything in life, it's that events first perceived as disappointments can very quickly become something positive.

No, I didn't finish in first place, but I did make the top five! With forty stories competing for that top spot, that's not so bad.

I've learned through life experience that the nature of my soul is such that it can't help but hang all kinds of hopes on the very best of outcomes, a nature that also allows me to recover quickly when the best outcomes elude me.


In the meantime...

We will loudly and proudly be the shenanigators, as we help our eldest grandbaby celebrate his 12th birthday. He's about five minutes away from looking me square in the eye, and about ten from being a full-on grown-up. Fleeting.


In the meantime...

I'm going to take some long baths in a scented candle haze, embraced by soft music, sipping something fabulous.



In the meantime...

I'm going to spend some downtime with my hubby. Time spent not planning, figuring, worrying or working.



In the meantime...

I'm going to get closer to the finish line of writing "Once Battered," complete the illustrator notes for "Laney In The Middle" and "Busy Izzy,"



In the meantime...

I'm going to savour every bite of pizza made by tiny hands.


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Until next time...


May the flipside of every disappointment shine brighter than you could have ever dreamed.
May you see that downsides are rarely as dark as they first present themselves to be.

May you, when you feel the need, know the value of taking a beat, and take it.
May you see that downtime is needed, without it, we simply wouldn't make it.

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Thanks again for your votes!

To check out what you were voting for...

https://www.amazon.ca/s?k=once+broken&crid=1EDRJ7ZIAY02&sprefix=once+broken%2Caps%2C295&ref=nb_sb_ss_i_1_11

I Need You're Help! It's Fast,Fun, & Free!

Hi!


I know it's weird that I'm jumping on here on a Wednesday, but it's for an awesomely fun reason!

I've been invited to participate in a contest that would make the likelihood of 'Once Broken' becoming a movie exponentially better!

It's a live vote that runs from right about now until the sun goes down Friday. (I'm not sure of the exact times in the different parts of the world)

Each and every vote will make a huge difference! All you need to do is follow the link below, find the 'Once Broken' book cover, (click the 6 on the bottom of the page)and vote!

Thank you in advance for all of your incredible support! I'll let you know how it went in my usual ramblings on the weekend!



https://taleflick.com/pages/discovery


That's all for now! Wish me luck!

If You're Not Sure, Don't Share...Truth Matters.

Hi!



We seem to live in a world, of late, where peddlers of misinformation are working 24/7 365. It seems that more and more people are sharing untruths without even knowing they are doing so, accepting what they see as fact.



In this day and age, when making fake seem real is getting easier and easier it gets harder and harder to differentiate between the two.

I've noticed an influx of stuff shared from youtube that when you dive a bit deeper find out has absolutely no truth to it.

I've noticed things shared from what at first look like legit news sources. Again, when you dig a little, you find out these bits of "information" are completely unfounded and untrue.


Truth is something that means a lot. It's important. Facts are important.

When big issues like protests, elections, and civil rights are in the balance, even more so. Real people are involved, and not everyone stays behind their keyboard.

Too many times misinformation proficient in stoking fear and rage leads to violent acts that cause physical and emotional irreparable harm.

Let's be a bit more mindful. Let's be a bit more careful. Let's do a bit of homework before we share. If we don't want to dig, that's all good too, just then, do us all the favour and not share.

If you're not sure, don't share. Truth matters.


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Facts are stubborn things. Truth has a way of coming out, no matter how you want to dress, twist or bury it.

Conspiracy theories tend to stay theories because they lack facts to back them up.

They always seem to come out big and bold, spreading poison as far and fast as they can. Then, after time, once they've been disproved, they quietly seem to disappear. Those that were spouting the lies suddenly don't speak of them anymore, or just deny they said it to begin with, no matter how many times they went on tv, where they record things, spewing the venom. 

I've seen where they are being interviewed about something they said. They deny saying it, so the interviewer shows them the tape where they are literally saying it, and they deny it again.

It's so bizarre.

"I like blue."

Two days later...

"So, I heard you say you like blue, but now you are saying you don't?"

"I never said I like blue."

"Roll tape"

"I like blue."

"You see where you said you like blue?"

"I didn't say that."

"??????"

Repeat.

In order to buy into that kind of logic, you have to suspend all means of reason.

Strangely enough, there seems to be a core group of people who do lap it up.

They find it more reasonable, somehow,  that everyone on the planet outside of their belief bubble is conspiring, lying, and putting together elaborate schemes. To what end? I'm not sure. To rid the Whitehouse of Trump? The election will take care of that. All of the other drama is self-inflicted.

Facts are going to constantly get in the way of misinformation. It's not an elaborate conspiracy, it just is.



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Until next time...



May nightmares of conspiracy give way to reason, and what logic dictates to be true.
May the gaslight dim long enough to erase the shadows of conjured villains, letting reality shine through.

May the bridges singed through this page in history lead to a path of eventual healing.
May it stop being about us against them, and become more about we, and our unlimited ceiling.

May we find civility, true nobility, a way to walk through this world without hate.
May we show the best of who we are, stop proving the worst, before this bitterness seals our fate.



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www.margyreidbooks.com

Happy Valentine's Day, Just Because...

Happy Valentine's Day!


For many, this day means a lot, for many, this day means less than very little.


Traditionally and commercially, society perpetuates that it's all about romantic love.

If you are in a romantic relationship, I hope, for your sake, you make romantic gestures much more often than once a year. Romantic gestures evolve over time.

As you get to know each other, the small, selfless gestures come to mean at least as much if not more than the grand ones.

The just becauses.


Preparing a favourite meal, scraping the ice from your car windows, making sure you always have clean clothes, holding out a hand on uneven ground, baking a favourite cookie, picking up a favourite old school treat found by happenstance when filling the car with gas.

The just becauses.


If romance is not your deal, if this day is like any other, have a great one!


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This weekend also celebrates another holiday! Where I call home, this weekend is a long weekend, Monday being family day!

Whether your family is bound by DNA, shaped by shenanigans, foreordained by fate, or birthed from the ashes of trauma, family is family.

Celebrate yours. Whatever its shape and size.

Time with those we love is never guaranteed. Enjoy!


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May you get all the romance, if that's what floats your boat.
May you have all of the meh, if the romance gets your goat.

May you celebrate, if not romance, just love in all its forms.
May you celebrate those who are yours, those who stand with you through storms.

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www.margyreidbooks.com

This Is Only The Beginning...

Hi!

You may have guessed from the photos that  I'm missing the long days that still seem so far away.

The summer breezes, the smell of rain, the sunsets that caress the edges of the horizon allowing us to endlessly savour every whisper of golden light.

Shadow dodging rodents aside, we have a few weeks until the calendar relents to spring, because of where I live, actual spring is more likely at least a few months away.


In the meantime, I will do my level best to savour the endless night.


Soooooooo, this, my friends, is the 500th edition/episode/posting of these ramblings.

What began as an invitation to any who were curious along for the ride of this writing adventure, has become something beyond anything I could have ever imagined.

The writing of these ramblings has afforded me the opportunity to hold meaningful conversations from readers all over the world about things that celebrate our differences as well as so many more things that connect us.

I'm forever honoured and humbled that you continue to entrust me with your stories, your milestones, your moments, your experiences, your heartbreak, your tears.

I appreciate every piece of feedback.

I would love to say that all of it is positive, uplifting, encouraging, but that would be a huge lie.

Although it is never my intention to offend anyone on purpose, I also won't edit myself to the point of impotence. I won't shy away from things I believe are important, I can't. It's not who I am.

It would indeed be weird if everyone agreed with everything I ramble about 100% of the time.

If I were the type of person that was easily insulted, I would likely be pushed into dark places on a regular basis.

It's a bit puzzling, and more than a little entertaining,  why those who have such animus toward me would take the time to not only seek out, and read what I have to say, but, then put their time and energy into formulating and spewing what I am sure they think are tremendously hurtful remarks in my direction.

I do read them.  Maybe because I grew up steeped in smart ass, maybe because I've been through what I've been through, maybe because life has taught me what really matters, more times than not, I find them amusing.

Everyone has the right to their opinion. But, they definitely do not have the power to dictate how I react to it.

Throw your sticks, sling your stones, do whatever you need to do to make you feel better. It's all good. Will it change who I am? Will it change how I approach the world? Will it have any effect on me outside a bit of amusement? Not at all.




So, 500. Kind of cool. This is only the beginning. Thanks for accepting the invitation.


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May you capture your spark, fan the flame, then burn down your prison of safety.
May you know you can crawl, walk, then run, even if at first, your legs feel shaky.

May you throw aside your fear, if worst case is survivable, there is no reason not to try.
May you give yourself the gift of living in the 'why not' instead of existing in the 'why'.

May you see that though caution has its place, you can't allow it to be the teller of your tale.
May you see the beauty of caution waving in the wind, instead of your anchor it becomes your sail.


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www.margyreidbooks.com

You Have Nine Months...

Hi!



Is it just me, or have the Republican senators, over the past week or so, Bill Cosby'ed Lady Justice, beat her to a bloody pulp and left her in a ditch?


I mean, I'm not even American and even I know enough about their constitution to know that this has
been a complete shit show.


Arguing that the prosecutors have no first-hand witnesses while simultaneously actively prohibiting first-hand witnesses from testifying.

Complaining about the lack of paper trail proof while ignoring subpoenas to produce documents.

Then out and out voting to refuse witnesses and documents. In a trial.

It completely blows the mind.


To watch a supposed brilliant legal scholar make the argument that if the President thinks his re-election is what's best for the country then actively seeking foreign interference to help make that happen can't be impeachable, no matter how smarmy those actions might be. If I hadn't watched it live, I wouldn't have believed it. I had to rewatch it a few times before it really sank in.

They have to know that all of the truth will spill out into the public domain, and chances are it will be before November.

It will be interesting and, I'm not gonna lie, a bit scary to see what happens next.

He bragged about grabbing women by their genitals - all good
He's been credibly accused by more than a dozen women of sexual misconduct - all good
He paid off porn stars and playboy bunnies to keep them quiet about affairs, some of which took place shortly after his third wife gave birth to his 5th kid.- all good
He lies. About EVERYTHING, all the freakin' time - all good
He conspired with bad actors to try and force another President to announce some bogus investigation into someone who will, if given the opportunity, kick his ass in the next election.- all good

Maybe he really could shoot someone in the middle of fifth avenue and get away with it.


When he got elected, I knew it was going to be sad. I knew that our neighbours to the south were in for a bad storm. What I had hoped, was that there would be enough good people around him to keep him in some kind of check.

He's put kids in cages after ripping them from the arms of their parents- all good
He's kicking people off of food stamps- all good
He's kicking people off medic-aid- all good
He's run the national debt through the roof- all good
He's a racist.- all good

These are the things he does in plain sight. If he unapologetically does these things in the light, what the hell is going on under the protection of darkness? No one seems to care enough to check him.

The Bully King reigns.

They just had their shot to get him out of their Whitehouse, and they didn't take it. They could have banned together as citizens that care about their country, about each other, and rid themselves of what has proven to be a horribly unsuccessful experiment.

I just can't figure out why.

He's a cancer. If you had a cancerous tumour, a tumour that you contracted through a litany of bad choices, but it's a tumour that you could surgically remove, wouldn't you do it? They didn't. Instead, they are encouraging their cancer to take over their entire body. Not doing anything that might stop it, or even slow it down. They are, instead, feeding it, making it stronger.

In his 280 character rants, he doesn't hesitate to dump on anyone and everyone who has the misfortune of landing in his crosshairs  None of them are immune. Any one of these Senators could easily be next.

So instead of unarming the bully, they cower. They bow to every whim of the Idiot King, afraid of what? That his words might cost them their jobs? Okay. I can't think of a job that I would be willing to keep at the cost of who I am. A job for which I'd be willing to sell my soul.

Believe people when they consistently show you who you are. Take to heart their actions, not their words.

America, you show all the signs of an abused spouse, we are here for you, waiting patiently as you gather the strength to remove him from your house.

He will do everything within his now unlimited power to manipulate the system to keep that from happening. Be diligent. Be wary.

You have nine months.

Get behind whoever ends up running against this Idiot King.

Don't let the exhaustive nature of his wrongdoing numb you to what's happening before your very eyes.

Take breathers, but come back. Always come back.

Don't allow misinformation put in front of you by Russian bot farms form your opinions. Research before you share.

Fight for your freedom before he convinces you that he IS your freedom.

When the time comes. Vote.

Help those around you get to the ballot box. Make sure your voice is heard.

If they try to put your ballot box beyond your reach, reach out for help to get there.

Last time, he was perceived as a joke. This time, make him one.


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May you stay the course, keep marching, keep fighting, it will be worth it in the end.
May you stay strong, stay standing, see that he is poisoning you while he pretends to be your friend.

May you see as he hands you flowers with one hand, his other wields a knife.
May you see that he is fundamentally altering your home, your life.

May you see that though the journey seems endless, the light is but a few months away.
May History document all of it, every single piece, so those who sold their souls can live in infamy.



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