Author Archives: rkpaulus

About rkpaulus

Writer. Mom. Wife. Basketball coach. Lover or all things chocolate. Winner of bubble gum jar! Grace is my oxygen.

The Hobbit… Reflections on Sandy Hook

Posted on by
http://www.stockfreeimages.com/

http://www.stockfreeimages.com/

Went to see The Hobbit last night. Incredible book. Amazing movie. To be expected. From the music to the cinematography to the dialogue, Peter Jackson and his entire crew truly delivered. And to be honest, it was nice to leave the world. For a brief three hours.

One of my favorite movie quotes was one Hubs and I spoke about on the walk back to the car through the parking lot.

Bilbo Baggins: I have… I have never used a sword in my life.

Gandalf: And I hope you never have to. But if you do, remember this: true courage is about not knowing when to take a life, but when to spare one.

Because like so many of us around the globe, since Friday morning’s tragedy of the slaughter of innocent children and teachers, I’ve had a really difficult time knowing how to process and how to move forward. I can’t even imagine how a parent of any of the twenty children is dealing right now. Continue reading →

The Present

Posted on by
trees
Shay notices three threes as she rushes into the courtyard between the parking garage and her coffee. Well, the cafe really, where she buys her cafe con leche every afternoon. They’re tall evergreens, in the center of downtown. In a main part where they can’t be missed. Someone took the time to string lights on each of them, blue, red and white. Like a traffic light, turned sideways, she can’t help but stop in her tracks for a moment. And stare.  Continue reading →

Calling YA Readers! Blog Hop Bay-bee!

Posted on by
THINK Sticky Note!
When Bethany Jett of The Cinderella Rule asked me to participate in a Blog Hop, my only hesitation was if it involved a public display of jumping. Because I can jump. Your basic lifting of both feet off the floor, but if you knew the history behind my long-jumping track days, let’s just say, you wouldn’t want me on your team. Yeah. Not a good memory.
I met the gorgeous Bethany Jett in Chicago during a MacGregor Literary weekend and because she was wearing purple, I knew we would be friends!    🙂
It helped that we both love teens and have a heart for teen girls and their journey through some of life’s toughest years. Bethany’s soon to be released book gives girls a map to navigate the crazy world of young love. And all things dating. And I’m all about Young Adults and healthy relationships so when she asked me to Hop on…
I said yes! And so below, you’ll find my answers to the questions each of the authors has answered or will answer as the hop keeps happening. So swing back those arms, bend your knees, and take a leap into a sneak-peek of my writing world. And make sure to hop on over to the other writer pages and discover some stellar story tellers!

Star of Wonder

Posted on by
I’ve been contemplating presents lately. How much I’m not really into the whole frenzy of gifts and wrapping and shopping. Even on-line. And how I think it’s rather interesting how a tradition that began in days of old had nothing to do with gift exchange between friends and family, but rather the act of bringing precious items of worth to the feet of one who might not seem to even understand their worth. A baby. The baby Jesus.  And I’ve been thinking about how this child came into the world to tell us a story. His story and ours. Wrapped up in a gift too huge for any Fedex box and yet simple enough to tell year after year, every Christmas. A story that many continue to write songs about. A moment significant enough to divide history into the letters of B.C. and A.D.

I sat in Friendly’s, across from my five-year old Sunday afternoon, and while she spooned frigid spoonful after spoonful of vanilla ice cream with sprinkles into her numbing mouth, I told her the story. Because, the funny thing is, she doesn’t know it. When you’re a parent of multiple children, I think you easily forget that the last, often coined “the baby” far beyond her diaper years, is often overlooked when it comes to details. I joke about how she’s raised by a house of four moms. Because her older sisters really dive in and help her with just about everything. And that really helps this tired mommy out. 🙂 Continue reading →

The Who. The Who?

Posted on by
With the hubbub of holidays and the onset of basketball season for three out of four of our princesses, hubs and I have been overdue for a date night. So I asked for a Wednesday night. And hubs gave me an enthusiastic yes to the yes. 🙂
So as the day drew near, I realized that even for adults, a week night feels like a school night so I thought dinner and a movie, not to far from the house, would suffice. Want to see Denzel’s new movie Flight. Want to see Life of Pi. And still haven’t seen Breaking Dawn, the Twilight finale, but am willing to wait for the DVD to come out. Since I already know how it ends and all.

Hubs sends me a text half-way through my afternoon, “Can we leave by 6:00PM?”

“Ummm. One has to be picked up. Two have to be dropped off for practice. And your mom needs a ride back from visiting your dad. What do you think?” My way of saying, it’s gonna be a fight.
Continue reading →

Between You and Me… A Christmas Story

Posted on by

www.stockfreeimages.com

“Babe, why are there branches all over the house, hanging from the ceiling?” He walks through the front door and tosses his coat and scarf on the couch. They’ll make it to the hooks. Eventually.
“Oh, I don’t know?” Didn’t have time to research what the romance-inducing plant actually looks like.
“Don’t you think they’ll attract bugs?” He’s sitting now, untying his dress shoes and slips them off and places them neatly by the door. They’ll make it to the shoe room. Later.

“Not that I know of.” Unless you mean me, cuz you know how much I like to bug you. Continue reading →

Pinterest: To Pin or Not to Pin

Posted on by

So now we come to the world of Pinterest in this week of Social Media Posts. If you missed them, you can always pop over to the Facebook or Twitter blogs and come back for the finisher. 

I have to confess, and I hate to step on any toes of people who are obsessed with Pinterest, but this is by far, my least favorite of all the Social Media networks I choose to participate in. Don’t get me wrong, pins are beautiful, magical, and often lead to oodles of fantastic information, all through the window of a picture. I love the whole visual menu of Pinterest and the fact that you can virtually shop yourself a cyber world of your imaginaray wardrobe, dream vacations, and meals that look so perty, but are too much effort to prepare. That would take time, after all. Precious minutes that could be used searching for more pins, re-pinning and commenting on pins you like.  Continue reading →

Twitter: To Tweet or Not to Tweet

Posted on by

So I’m doing an introspective examination of my participation of all types of Social Media this week, and today, I thought I’d make like a bird, and fly over to Twitter and discuss the merits of whether “To Tweet or Not to Tweet.” 🙂

So about a year ago, I was freaking out about this new *although not totally new at the time, thing called Twitter. And the pressure to join yet one more time-consuming group that would suck up my minutes. I hesitated. Hemmed and hawed. Made excuse after excuse and finally threw up the question on my Facebook, asking my “friends” whether they were pro or anti-Twitting. The majority said, “Just do it!” and on a cold, winter’s night last November, I took the plunge and dove into the icy waters of Twitter. Because when you have no one following you, it can feel a bit chilly on this side the branches. [Think birds sitting together on a branch, with one sitting all by herself on a tree nearby. Yeah. The lone bird would be me.]

“What are they tweeting about?” Lone Feathers tweets, wishing she could be part of that conversation.

“You can!” One bird ventures over and tweets back, “It’s easy. Just follow me.” Continue reading →

FaceBook Status: To Post or Not to Post

Posted on by

If you’re Facebook-stalking me, click LIKE. 

This is the STATUS post I’m tempted to type every once in a while. But I’m a risk-taker. A little over the top when it comes to “not worried what others think” and I hit return often faster than my mind can say, “I’m okay with that” and then it’s too late. But that’s just me.

How many people give a lot of thought to their FB post? Before we go into the most frequently types of posts you read, let’s examine how a person decides what to post.

So about those of you who post, what do you find are the most critical things to tell the world behind the screen?

 

  1. Updates on your career. How many hours you worked. How many words you wrote today. How many miles you ran. How many push-ups you [I] did. Numbers aren’t everything. Just reporting, after all. After all, a little cyber-boast never heard nobody.
  2. Random things that happen to you. A mosquito bit the tip of your nose. This is worse than a nose bleed. People keep looking at you funny, like you’re picking. And you assure them, no. Not picking, just scratching. OR… A leaf lands on the palm of your hand. It must be a sign. You look up to get clarity and a branch pokes you in the eye. Ouch! Yeah. Lesson of the day: Don’t stand too close to trees. Continue reading →

Once Upon a Sorta, Kinda, Not really Fairy Tale

Posted on by

http://www.stockfreeimages.com/

Fiction Friday Again! Can you believe it’s been a month, and the stories keep on coming! Enjoy this short little intro, possible prologue, to a love story that’s brewing in my head. And heart. 

***

Growing up, Dad always read us bedtime stories when Mom worked nights. “Only two books.” Dad laid down the law. He was tired from playing cops and robbers all day. He’s a cop.I stared at my collection of Curious George books, and the grueling choice of choosing only one yellow binder aged me. I’m sure of it. Continue reading →