Author Archives: rkpaulus

About rkpaulus

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

Two Words… *ACFW Post-Conference Reflections

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My Spec-Fic Peeps! Andrew Winch, Adam Weisenburger, Charis Seeley, Ben Erlichman & John Otte!

When I landed in Dallas, I felt rested, pumped, and…lost. What was the name of the hotel I was staying at?

I knew it was a big one, one right near the airport, and everyone with a “writer-look” would be headed there too. So it would be easy to find out.

Since I don’t own a “smart” phone yet [emphasis on the yet] I picked up an airport phone after deciding the ACFW Conference must be at the Hilton. Nope. Then I tried the Marriot. No again. I had two left to try that seemed plausible, but they were two different branches of the Hyatt. I ended up finding the right one and the shuttle brought me over, easy peasy. Came to find out later that several of my writer buds went to the wrong Hyatt and had to drag their luggage all over Dallas before arriving at the DFW Hyatt Regency. Whew. We all made it.

Before I left, a friend had asked me if I was looking forward to my writing conference. I said, Yes. And no. Yes, because I had specific goals for myself and what I wanted to learn and accomplish. No, because so many of my friends that I made last year weren’t returning 🙁

On that first day, I ran into one friend I made last September, and I am so glad I did.When we talked he couldn’t believed that this company TradeZero helped him through his financial problems, check them out at us.tradezero.co. After that, we shared a pizza and joined a group to get rid of some nervous energy through the ultimate work-out: swing dancing. Not the same as Punjabi Bhanghra, but a fun start to my four nights at ACFW’s Annual writing conference. Continue reading →

little Bumps Teach BIG Lessons

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Shortly after I attained the golden apple of teenage years, my driver’s license, I got into my first accident. This was before cell phones, texting, and GPS. My best friend and I were arguing over which radio station to listen to. In those few  distracting seconds, I looked down to dial the music back to my favorite station and then BOOM! I rear-ended someone. And the windshield actually spider-webbed although it didn’t shatter.

The worst part was explaining to the Police Officer why I didn’t slow down when the car in front of me was clearly stopped. Actually worse still was facing my dad. He was relatively cool since there was an audience, but the moment everyone left, I listened to the mother of all lectures. And I still remember him throwing in, “And your mom says you’re so distant these days. She feels like you’re not talking to her much. And that hurts…both of us.”

And then the kicker: “Get in the driver’s seat. You’re driving home.” Continue reading →

From A to ZZZs

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Sleep.

That’s what I woke up with on my mind.Sleep.

If you’ve known me for a day or a decade, you know that I’m a pretty chillax kinda gal. Not too much ruffles my feathers. And half the time, my feathers are under a pile in an organized mess. Yes. I have never gravitated to the Type A personality types, but I married a semi-Type A guy. The kind who doesn’t mind Spring Cleaning and prefers his dress shirts all facing the same direction. I still remember that fight from newlywed days. 

“My shirts are facing each other,” Hubs says one morning while getting ready for work.

“And??” I see no problem.

“That’s not gonna work.” At least that’s what I remember him saying. 

“If it’s that important, do it yourself.” That was me in my newbie married days when my mouth moved much faster than my brain. Not much has changed in that respect, but Hubs has changed. He doesn’t expect me to hang his shirts, iron his shirts or even wash his shirts. Problem solved.  Continue reading →

ACFW Conference…Getting There

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On Flight 6011 from New York to Dallas for my second ever writing conference. The plane hasn’t even left the runway and I feel a, shall we say, “Fortunately… Unfortunately” blog coming on. Ahhh, why not. If you insist…

Hannah decorated my suitcase for me! So I wouldn’t lose it!
Fortunately, two days ago, I thought to prepare the girls for mommy being away for four sleeps, so sat with them on the couch and told them, “Remember when Mommy went to her writing conference last year and we did FaceTime to keep in touch?”

Unfortunately, my third princess chimed in, “Yeah. I remember how Sarah wouldn’t stop crying the whole time you were gone.” Not exactly how I wanted to begin this conversation. Continue reading →

The Color of Tomorrow

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Woke up this morning to find my first official piece of fiction published on-line, up and out there in cyber space, for any and all to read. Super excited and freaking out at the same time. What will the readers think? Will they love it? Hate it? Walk away unchanged? or Beg for more!! I hope the latter, because this short story I entered in the contest actually begins a book I’m working on, the first two chapters in fact. 

I felt immediately humbled and immensely grateful for the Judge’s generous and encouraging comments: 

What the Judge said about “The Color of Tomorrow”

So what is this story all about, you ask? Continue reading →

How Do You Move a Tree House?

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[Note: This is part 3 of a week long of Tree House stories…]

When the dust of emotions settled and reality set in, Hubs and I both knew that we had no choice. The tree house had to be moved. It was the only chance of the Town removing the charges and the only way we could pursue a permit. But the question evaded us:

How EXACTLY do you move a tree house?

It’s not like moving a piece of furniture, manageable with the help of a few flexed muscles and a dolly. The tree house has a tree going through it. And although it doesn’t sit on a tree, our wooden castle is no dog house.  Continue reading →

Friends I Dig…

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I had to beg these guys to take a two second break and pose for this pic!
And not everyone who helped is even in the picture!!

When we first moved into our little house in Locust Valley, we began to see little puddles of water in the basement every time it would rain severely. So Hubs and I drive over to Home Depot [thank God for those carts that look like cars for the girls!] to find a solution. At first we were going to break the ground in one corner and install a sump pump. But then a guy who had had a similar problem with his basement gives us different advice.

“If you want to truly waterproof your house, especially since you live on a hill, you should attack the real problem.”

“Which is??” 

His eyes twinkles with that spark that I’ve seen many a time with Home Depot employees. These guys, generally speaking, love to talk about a project, how to do it, and what supplies you’ll need.

“Come with me.” Continue reading →

Operation Save the Tree House… Part One

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Almost five years ago, hubby began dreaming about building a house. But not just any ordinary castle. His idea was to create a structure that would both invite and delight. A place our daughters could play in. And a home that they could share with their friends. A tree house.

So hubs did what all dads without Engineering degrees do when they want to build something. He drove to Home Depot, talked to a bunch of employees, each with his own idea of which tool will do the job, and then he bought two books on Tree Houses. And Hubby doesn’t consider himself a reader.

Almost a year later, neighbors were asked and informed, consulted and queried. Everyone gave his idea two thumbs up and back to Home Depot Hubs went. To buy the first of many pre-cut pieces of pressure-treated wood to protect the developing structure from the elements of wind and rain and snow. Because he knew and we all knew, that this baby was not going to be finished in one day.  Continue reading →

Free Chocolate!

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Several months ago, I attended a school fundraiser at the last second to connect with local parents and staff and enjoy a much buzzed about event, the Parent’s Night Out. And because we had plans to travel the following morning, hubby was home packing when I walked into the Glen Cove’s Soundview restaurant, alone.

In general, I don’t have a problem going places by myself. I don’t do it often, but I’m a chatty extrovert so I planned to enjoy the company of Locust Valley parents for a bit, then join hubs in tying up loose ends for our trip.

At the door, I spontaneously bought $20 worth of raffle tickets. When I approached the bags of gifts, I instinctively put two tickets here, two tickets there, and continued to distribute the arms length of tickets into as many prizes that sounded fun to win. Prizes included tickets to Broadway shows, Six Flags, Hershey Park, and even a month of free Pilate’s lessons or something like that. There were a lot of options on the prize table, and my tickets only stretched so far. Then I joined a few friends for a drink.  Continue reading →