Doree Anderson

Merry Christmas from John, Jessica, Judy and Doree Christmas Lights Tour with Lisa at the Helm. Merry Christmas from me. It was a beautiful night, last night as we rode in a carriage and enjoyed all the many twinkling lights of downtown. Temple Square boosts about the thousands of lights they start string in August, -- no kidding, every tiny bush, even up the sides of the buildings. And the huge Nativity, really highlights the true meaning of Christmas. We clip clopped around the block, with Lisa Williams-Cox (fantastic friend) and Charlie (horse debonair complete with lights and flowers in his hair) . Lisa is a fountain of information. Not just what the buildings are, but interesting incites into each one. Like...there is a wall at the LDS Conference building that is the same length as two 747 parked nose to nose? I KNOW.  It was the greatest experience for all four of us. I highly recommend that you experience downtown in a carriage (Carriage for Hire).   ...

The Ghosts of DunMuller's Mansion -  Book One - EXCUSE ME by yours truly, has been requested by another agent. Here's the fun part - I get to wait for a very long time to see if somebody will love it as much as me. That's okay, I'm well into book two: ANTE UP Good Luck - Excuse Me.

Christmas is coming up. What a wonderful time of the year - yeah right! I've never been a happy camper during this time. I didn't enjoy it a lot as a kid. Although now, being a grandparent, it is fun. Yeah, the same headaches are there. Money is always an issue and for all of our preparations, it only takes seconds for it to be over with. True. But look at the spirit. More people smile. Amazing, I know. Some people are even courteous and giving. I watched a guy I would never have pegged as a giver, actually put in some change (okay, a penny and a nickle) in a bell ringer's can. I was floored. I saw a guy count out his groceries before going up to the 15 or less isle. He still went up with more than 15, but at least he counted. The neighborhood has lights on more houses than it has ever in past. That's something, right? Mine doesn't, but this year I'm the exception. the exception being... I didn't want to fall and kill myself. I KNOW, every now and then...

Hey, let’s take a moment and ponder… We are about to dip into the last month of the year and what do we have to show for ourselves? Nothing – SAY WHAT! I sat down at my computer this morning and went through my usual routine of checking my e-mails, reading my favorite blogs and chuckling over my kitten pictures (totally the highlight of my day) and thought, “this is what I spend a lot of my time doing.” I didn’t complete a new manuscript this year; I tweaked the hell out of my old one. I’ve also been polishing a manuscript from three years ago. Oh, don’t get me wrong, I did start a new one, ooops, better make that three new ones but never got to the part where I say, whoopee, I’m addicted and can’t wait for the all important, ‘the end.’ So, lets get these resolutions for 2011 underway, shall we. 1st, I’m president of our Utah chapter of the RWA, major commitment there (). 2nd, I want to make sure that Excuse Me has the completed follow up finished, polished and queried so that others ...

The spooks have all been put to bed All that candy gone to their head And now as parents we stand back to see Just how dang sick they’re gonna be. Chocolate, chewy’s and gum for miles or more Halloween traditions bought from the store. Say so long to the spiders, the ghosts and the ghouls Holidays are sprouting – now Christmas Trees rule! The weather was not ideal for lasts nights trek to the houses. It rained, it stormed and then goodness, it rained some more. My grandson’s little feet were frozen, their tiny fingers were bright pink, but do you think they’d had enough? No. Their bags were dragging by the time they returned to my door. Soaked, but delighted with all their cavity causing merchandise. It was the highlight to the hot and heavy costumes, coats and umbrella’s that they had to wear. This morning, after a quick church service, I ran to the grocery story and ‘...

NANOWRIMO This is the most exciting time for me. I love November 1st and a chance to sit my patootie in the old chair and pound out another novel. I try to get at least three manuscripts written per year and having a whole month dedicated to just writing is fantastic. I call everyone I know and tell them that, phone calls are not answer. Leave a message and after I have completed 2500 words that day, I’ll call ‘em back. The door bell is disconnected and a sign on the door that reads “Children at Work, Parent’s Home Schooling” keeps those pesky little salesmen away. I already have a “no Soliciting” sign, but for some reason, salespeople seem to feel that it’s for everyone on but themselves. I’ll run the vacuum cleaner and mop over floors on the sly. Nothing is scheduled, all is done my medical necessity. I’ve read my books, brainstormed my ideas and set up my ‘fresh thoughts 10′ directory so…Bring it on. I’m hoping that by next November, I can be where all the other mama’s are… publish...

For a laparoscopic Colonoscopy, they no longer use the good memory forgetting drug of versade. So why would I think that if I fell down a few steps, they’d give me morphine. Pain is pain, I don’t care who you are. What’s happening with the world today? Michael Jackson takes a forever trip down anesthetic avenue and the rest of the world suffers. Not fair. Even a tiny nibble of codine or percocet would have been preferable. But no, I get the aspirin free, anti-inflammatory meds. (yeah, they worked) Life is not fair. Down the stairs of my house from the upstairs rooms to the living room, the rail is on the left side. Going down from the living room to the family room, the rail is on the right side. Since I have lived here for twenty-one years, this is not an ‘All of a sudden’ situation. So, tell my head that. Yesterday, I suffered a mild attach of the forgotten. I forgot that the hand rail was on the right side. At the same time, my left leg forgot to follow my right leg down the stairs....

There are few things in my life that I get excited about. (Heath issues frankly. Excitement causes stress, which cause...well, lets just say repercussions and use our imagination). Scrapbooking USA is one of them. Twice a year, I gear up to learn new techniques and find new and better page ideas. This Friday was opening day. Thursday night, I gathered all my necessary paraphernalia. I put the paper in the paper section, the different colors in alphabetical order and zipped it close. This is a simple according type file that has a flap. Works wonders. Next I pulled out the huge case on rollers with a nice long handle. (Your typical suitcase on wheels). My scissors of every shape and size imaginable are in the special 'scissor' slots on one side and the special pens and stencils are housed in fancy pockets on the other side. In the center is my scrap-book. I prefer to keep my paper and cutters separate, because as I understand it, things come alive and play at night. (I've...

There are days in a child’s life that no matter what, it’s wrong. The youngest of my grandchildren is three. He’s a darling little red-head who has had to tolerate three other, older siblings. So, the little dude learns. Fast. He learns to: Take what he wants, when he wants. Even to the devastation of others. “He took it from me.” (and who do we believe? The baby) Push and fight your way; over them, through them. Whatever. If the other cries, ah, the ‘that’s just to darn bad attitude rears its ugly head. “He started it. He hit me first.” (and who’s side do we defend? The baby) Blames others. The youngest seems to believe that he or she never does anything wrong. “I didn’t take it. Somebody else did; I seen him.” (and who do we believe? The baby) I watched the cutest little guy in the world become the most mischievous little brat ever to walk the earth. One day seemed to be particularly horrific for him. From the time he lifted his ornery head off the pillow at 5:30 a.m. until tragedy ...

Airborne mycotoxins may be thriving in your home. Tiny spores pass through our nasal filters causing numerous medical symptoms. The root of this evil is not indestructible, Mold can be avoided or removed. Mold arrives innocently enough. The moist sweat shirt from the fall drizzle is tossed into a plastic container. It sits, damp and forgotten for a few months in the corner of the laundry room. With the assistance of a few environmental ingredients; temperature, nitrogen, oxygen, and moisture, we have the perfect recipe for mold. Feed it with doses of oil and dirt. Before long, this fungi will adhere to wood, sheet rock, insulation, fabric, Styrofoam, fiberboard or drywall, and proliferate causing an unclean environment. Mold has become a prime factor in several health issues. Family complaints include dizziness, flu-like symptoms, breathing difficulties, and memory and hearing loss. In some incidences, allergy suffers are unaware that they are breathing in mold spores. It may begi...

Ode to Tomatoes... I love tomatoes. Juicy red tomatoes. We wait all summer long for our plants to mature. And then, yes sir ree. There it is. The first one of the season. You quickly pick it. Run it into the house. Show it to everyone, those who could care and those who could care less, even the dog and cat. Remember, it is the first one. Drum roll please. You cut it up. (one slice because it's the first one and about the size of a cherry). With flare and excitement, you place your cut on a plate, add salt and pepper, (not too much) and take a taste. Nirvana. Oh my gracious. The juice drips down your throat. The acid alerts everyone of your thousands of taste buds. They stand, they taste, they cry. Heaven packed into a small piece of fruit. And, the following morning, you have been blessed with the biggest cancor sore ever....with just a tiny little blister above your lip. And, as the cold sore enlarges, ask yourself this; was it worth it. Oh! Heck, yes!!! Thank you to all the tiny...

Happiness is... Do you remember the song from "You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown?" I was thinking about it the other day and though, what a grand idea. Lets do a "Happiness is... for today. Look at the good side of life and smile. Show the world that your today is going great! Happiness is... waking up in the morning. Happiness is... good health for you and your family. Happiness is... the time to write Happiness is... the sun that's shinning. Happiness is... the fresh smell of cut grass in the morning. Happiness is... Life. As I was walking through Murray Park, the last of the migrating ducks were hanging out and watching us very carefully. They have been so spoiled with people feeding them bread that I think they though I was going to toss them some bread. Yes, it made my little heart break, cause I had to tell them that I was empty handed. So, if you go into the park today, please take a surprise. The ducks are hungry and we've been feeding them, so let...

What would you do? I don't want to spend no more stinking monies for a group of ladies to read my story and tell me it can't win ANOTHER contest. Thirty, forty or fifty dollars circling the drain and it's only a little flush away to watch it go bye bye. Yet, I open my mail and find at least three more contests begging for entries. It's like a alcoholic in a liquor store. On Sale, your choice of Whipping - I've never actually read, "This might not be the correct vocation for you." But, when that happens I have every intention of finding a rock and hiding under it. Shoot, I can read between the lines. I just can't write the actual lines :-) Gee, wasn't that fun? I feel better. I am trying to come up with a rock solid plan. A plan that has my butt in the chair, daily. I can make up some real pissy excuses when it comes to doing work. Don't get me wrong; I love writing. It's just that my muse really loves vacationing. The little sweetie has ...

Check Me Out... I've been caught. That's right, I am now also writing on a new blog sight called www.plotmamas.wordpress.com The title says it all, we are some fine mamas. Sugar, Gnome, Hot Lava, Swan, Spinner, Dragon and me; Grand Mama, and we speak out about, about, yeah, life as a mom or grandma knows it, when trying our darnedest to write. The fun everyday challenges that we go through. Let's face it, kids are a unique commodity. Cute little buggers who do things that are so hilarious that we can't help but write about them. Granted, my 'kids' are grand kids, but I too have found them to become my muse for a day, quite often. So. if you get a chance, check us out and hear what other women with children are talking about. From feeding to freedom and when you are able to find that fifteen minutes of peaceful quite that you can pound out a line or two. See ya there! www.plotmamas.wordpress.com

Let's chat about critiquing. This seems to be the most popular time of the year for writer's to jump on the contest wagon. Every where you look, some chapter, somewhere is holding their "Fall in Love", Best Line, Best First Page, or First Meeting contest, etc. And for a small price you can send in your "however many pages they want," and you'll get a top notch critique on your work. Well, I will say that I am usually delighted to get all the feed back I can on a submission. Winning is not the reason to submit. I think of it as a small price to pay to see where I'm at and what needs tweaking. I do not know if I enjoy the rather rude comments that I've received and so, let's chat. Critiquing is not an area for one frustrated writer to rip into another one. It is for beneficial criticizing. In other words, I didn't pay money to have another writer whine about something I wrote. I did pay money to receive constructive criticism! If you sign u...

I got a request ---- ye'haw. That's right. Caren Johnson Estesen Literary Agency asked for my manuscript "Excuse Me, Do You Smell Feta Cheese? .... I'm so beside myself that I had to take a few days to let it sink in. And now that it has, I feel like I'm holding my breath - that's the wait part. I'm handling it pretty well, though. I can now go a few days, oxygen deprived and I'm sure it will be a lot more to come - bring it on. What do they say - What doesn't bring pain, wasn't earned. It's all about the job. Authors must really like a roller coaster ride, because we hop on board more times than we care to admit. Honestly. Silly people, I say. Oh wait, I'm one of them! And I'm loving it. :-) Anyway, I finished the manuscript and then, what do I do? I tear it up. Yep, that's the disease. See, its this good, we think, but it can be this much better. I removed the part about Dani's brother Maxwell because, he's the star of ...

The results to the Truth and Lies and Games, Oh my is....6 truths, number 5 is the lie - Thanks for participating.

Rant, rave, whine, but behave! That's the story of Doree. And in the right corner is my new bff, Oliver. (isn't he just the cutiest little bug - such a cuddly bear) I hate depression. It is the most obnoxious, inconsiderate mind mutilation of all time. When it stops by, I get no warning. Just a how do you do, I'm here for you. And, not once has my little pain ever clued me in on the length of it's intended visit. The ever popular bad penny, wooden nickle or rotten egg drops it's crappy luggage and hankers down in my favorite chair. For the next while, I am a servant to it's every whim. If I thought for even a second that I would be able to work, I was wrong. Relax, get a hair cut, have coffee with my friends, oh no, not gonna happen. You see, depression tends to recruit those around you. If you're down, they are encouraged to join you. Jokes, oh, no sir, those you'll be checking in at the door. Smiles and happy thoughts are off limits. I am it's hos...

Truths and Lies and Games, Oh My! Author Amber Scott tagged me in a fun, get to know an author game. To play, the author can either do 6 lies and a truth or 6 truths and a lie. You, the reader, get to guess which version I picked and, accordingly, which is the lie or which is the truth. It’s a ton of fun. The person who can guess mine accurately will receive a $40.00 gift card to the Cheesecake Factory for a 'dinner by me.' Here goes: 1) My career test in high school stated that I would make an excellent Catholic school teacher. 2) I was a model for the Sears clothing catalog. 3) During my years in school, only one teacher ever pronounced my name correctly. 4) When I was twelve, I had to have my left leg pulled down and into alignment from standing too long. 5) Neil Diamond requested the lyrics to a song I had written a couple of years ago, he didn't buy it though. 6) I was born head down in a hospital bedpan. 7) I was a member of a singing group that performed in four...

2010 Graduations. How many will you attend this year. My brother and I drove down to Las Vegas on the 7th of June to attend my nephew, Bryan Necessary's graduation from UNLV. This year, the number of graduates receiving diploma's was such a fantastic number that the university divided up their colleges into two ceremonies. So, on Saturday, the day of the commencement exercises, Bryan's Liberal Arts College was scheduled for 2:00. (I really would have preferred the 9:00 am time slot, but then I am just a minor incident as an aunt - the smallest pest known to man). We left Salt Lake at 55 degrees and ended up in Vegas at 76 degrees on Friday. Saturday out did it's self... 88 degree's as we waited outside of the Thomas and Mack center for my sister and her family to find us. It was hot. Not as hot as it would get, but, hot! The commencement exercises started promptly at 2:00 pm (very impressive) but they didn't start with the graduate class names until 4:00. Needle...

DNA Testing/Character Resemblance *Note: the picture on the left has nothing to do with DNA testing, I just thought it was great! :-) So, you're doing your character sketch and wondering about the genetics of recessive eye coloring. You have two people with blue eyes, so what color would the babies be? Blue. Why? Blue is a recessive gene. In order to disrupt the blue gene, you need to sprinkle in a dominant color, i.e. brown. The scientific explanation is below: This is the simplest case of dominance. The allele that produced the working protein would be dominant over the allele that produced the defective protein. Individuals with two copies of the working allele and individuals with one copy of the working and one copy of the defective allele would both be able to produce working protein. Only individuals with two copies of the defective allele would be unable to produce working protein. The allele that produces this defective protein would be recessive to the allele that prod...

A New Outlook or...Never Stop Learning Yes sir ree! I ate lotsa goodies for Easter. Peeps - I sure love them peeps. Not so much them green ones, they just don't look quite right. Wish it had been prettier weather. Would have liked to catch me some of them cute little bunnies...I mean Easter eggs, yeah-wrangle me up a mess of good looking, pretty, colorful Easter eggs. That's Right!! Hope everyone had a great Easter. My husband and I enjoyed "The Blind Side" Easter Sunday afternoon and I must say, that was a very good movie. I love Sandra Bullock. Have watched almost all of her movies, but I don't really see 'award winner' here. Her role, (don't get me wrong) was great. A hard nosed, do as I say, yet big heart'ed Christian woman is truly outside of my expertise. I'm just saying that Tim McGraw, Kathy Bates and Quinton Aaron did a fantastic job as well. Bravo to all. I especially loved the little brother-what a kid! On to the importance of my blo...

Dean Wendell Anderson We placed a man to rest today, A man as fine as wine, He'll forever be a part of us, As we live out our time. We said goodbye, and kissed his cheek, his children one ...

Adapting to our environment : How often do you notice that people in the same family take on the same mannerisms? How many times have you seen humans and their dogs take on a resemblance in each others personality? Well, here is a good example of the adopted becoming one with their family. This picture of the meerkats reminds me of the game on Sesame Street: One of these things are different than the other; can you tell which one. Yes, the cat. Yet, when you take a look at the family, you see them all reflecting the same mannerisms. The cat has learned to sit on its haunches and balance with the front legs dangling down, the ears are laid back and the head is held perfectly in position. But, could this feral cat stand up fully erect like the one at the end? Yes, because we are all taught how to crawl and then stand by our family. I think this shows that animals don't discriminate. If another animal isn't aggressive or reflect a sense of danger, they accept them. We are raised ...

Oh, those wonderful opportunities to write... Twitter: I read twitter when I can actually sign in. This tends to be rare because I always seem to have suspicious activities on it. Since I'm not on it much, I don't care. You only have so many characters to make a statement with. I'm a writer, I have to describe everything. Space Book: I'm not on space book so I can't say one way or another. But if you don't mind being public property, then go for it. I tend to be hesitant in giving out information because, well, we have too many scrupulous individuals out there that think if you're on the sight, your personal information is theirs. Craig's List: Here again, I'm not on it. I did enough research and heard enough about client problems with it that, I think I'm going to pass. Check out the sites that you are on, get as much information as you can before you supply your whole kit-n-cabootle. Yahoo groups: Recently I had a meeting on one of the yahoo gr...

And again, the ball has dropped. Yes. I like so many other enthusiastic believers that a new year is a fresh beginning sat in my easy chair and witness the dropping of the ball, the end of the old and the welcome to the new. How exciting. Ah, but is it? Exciting. So many people will spring up from their beds this morning (at least those not swearing 'they'll never drink another drop, God, if you'll just let me live)all excited to start their...... fill in New Year's Resolution here. Diet ? And I will, I promise. (next year) To be more Organized ? Well, yeah. But it's going to take me a year to get organized before I can be organized, sheesh. To be a better person? I always thought I was but I'll smile more often, yeah that'll do it. Give more to Charities? One can only donate blood some many times before they need a transfusion themselves. (but - it does make you feel good. I'm giving platelets on Monday. If you're feeling good, join me won't ...