Who Ya Gonna Call

Ghostbusters, of course!  I recently entered a contest at work and won a cool prize pack that included this Flo t-shirt, dinner and a movie.  Thanks Progressive!  Below is my winning submission.  Don’t you think Truman cat looks ghostlike in the photo?  I think I see orbs too!

GHOSTBUSTERS

New York City…beware!

Ghosts are corrupting Times Square!

30 years later you will see “Ghosts From The Past”

Lots of slime and a stunning cast

Like Erin who is faced with adversity

From Columbia University

Some think she needs a shrink

But she opts for a proton pack and a stiff drink

And then there’s Abby who published the book

This changed everyone’s ghostly outlook

She’s always been a believer

You can never deceive her

Holtzmann has beauty and brains

She’s got ghostly remains

And chemicals like chloroform

To fight ghosts that take on human form

Native New Yorker Patty has been chased by a ghost

And just when she’s needed the most

She finds transportation

An ECTO-1 creation

And then there’s Kevin who’s clueless and cute

He’s like a juicy forbidden fruit

Ghosts take over and things look grim

The girls work hard to save him

This ghostbusting team fights them all

Even the marshmallow that’s 100-foot tall

I’m not sure if she’ll steal the show

But I hear you might see Flo

So when things are not looking good

In your neighborhood

Who you gonna call?

GHOSTBUSTERS!

H E L L O 2016!

H E L L O 2016!  Wow, I can’t believe you are here!

This time last year I was feverishly working on Sugary Boogery Book.  I was editing, putting it all together in terms of the formatting, deciding which illustrations to use, deciding which poems to not use, editing some more, compiling the index, editing some more, designing the cover, crossing my fingers I would like the proof and the list goes on!  It was an exciting time and I really had no earthly idea how this would turn out.  I just hoped people would like the book.

And they do!  The response has been super sugary in every way and it makes me so happy to talk about Sugary Boogery Book with elementary school aged kids!  I recently got some sweet fan mail from a student and attached it below.  Thanks Lydia M.!  I’ll be writing you back.

What’s next?  What’s in store for 2016?  I can’t wait to find out!

Fall, Royals and Reading!

Happy Fall everyone!  I love this time of year because of Halloween, the trees changing colors and Royals Baseball!  Each autumn we have a special houseguest named Winston.  He is our scarecrow that sits on the front porch and he has been a family tradition before Kate was born.

Our autumn houseguest has arrived!

Ya gotta’ love the Royals and their passion for the game!  We have enjoyed watching every game and cheering them on!  We are big fans and hoping they take a WIN tomorrow night!  Go Royals!

W for WIN!

I wanted to mention the Kansas Book Festival that happened on September 12th.  It was a Sugary Boogery Book highlight!  It took place at the Kansas State Capitol building which is an architectural beauty!  The event hosted many talented authors.  I enjoyed speaking to kids and adults alike and sharing Sugary Boogery Book with them.  There were many schools represented to include Ross Elementary in Topeka, KS.  They were a super sweet bunch!

A quick funny story… the evening before the festival we were invited to a reception.  The invitation was rather generic and only listed an address.  I was told Kate and Sam could come, so off we went.  Little did we know, the reception was at Governor Brownback’s house!  It was amusing because we did not realize where we were until about 15 minutes into the party.  The highway patrolman at the drive entrance and “Mary Brownback” greeting us at the front door should have been hints, but we can be pretty clueless sometimes.  We got a good laugh out of this adventure.   Kate was the only kiddo at the reception and she felt pretty special.  (Thank goodness we were appropriately dressed.)  It was nice to meet Governor Brownback and Mrs. Brownback and I just want to say thank you to the KS Book Festival staff and volunteers for making it a memorable event!

Kate’s superfantabulous school, St Elizabeth’s, is having Reading Week in November and I get to speak to 1st through 5th graders about Sugary Boogery Book!   Yeah!  If you can’t tell, I am pretty excited about this!  Her school is fortunate to have a great librarian, Mrs. Starr, who shares the love of reading (and technology) with the kids!  Kate came home with a book she checked out from the school library and she has been reading it every night.  (She is also very concerned about taking care of the book.)  I love to see kids reading!  It opens up a whole new world for them!

Happy fall everyone and happy reading!  Go Royals!

Kansas Book Festival

The Kansas Book Festival in Topeka, Kansas is happening this Saturday!   It is at the Kansas State Capitol Building and there are over 20 presenting authors.  What a beautiful place to hold such an event and I am honored to be a presenting author.  I have attached a link with all the details and hope to see you! Cheers to all things sugary!

Kansas Book Festival Presentation Schedule

Meet Louie and More

I had a visitor last week named Louie!  I think he is pretty cute!  The proud owner of him is Alivia Moore who is from Millersburg, Pennsylvania.  Louie traveled inside a copy of Sugary Boogery Book that I signed for the Dauphin County Library.  He thoroughly enjoyed his time in Kansas City by watching some Royals Baseball! Thank you, Alivia, for sharing him with me.

Louie from Dauphin County Library

It’s been a wonderful summer and now school is back in session.  This means more school visits for Sugary Boogery Book.  It also means that I will be at the Kansas Book Festival happening on 9.12.2015.  This is in Topeka, KS at the Capitol and a big sugary event.  I have attached a link with all the details…  Kansas Book Festival

With school back in session my creative brain is thumping again. We have Girl Scout Camp this weekend and Kate and I had to make 50 SWAPS.  SWAPS stands for Special Whatchmacallits Affectionately Pinned Somewhere and they are a longstanding Girl Scout tradition.  I hear lots of complaints from moms having to make SWAPS and I get it, I really do, but it doesn’t have to be elaborate.  There are so many simple ideas out there that do not cost a lot of money.  Most importantly, the girls love participating in the exchange of these little thingys and they can be fun to make with your daughter.  Attached are the little campfires that Kate and I made.  Super inexpensive and super easy.

SWAPS – campfires made with twigs and ribbon

Sugary Summer!

Happy summer everyone! I can’t believe it is more than half over! It has been sugary in so many ways and now it’s time to start thinking about Sugary Boogery Book again and working on book #2!

First, let me tell you about our summer so far…. We moved! Yes, we did, but only 242 steps away from our old house. We love the neighborhood and found the perfect home for us. We were so fortunate that the buying and selling process went smoothly… #19 (our old home) sold before it went live on the market to the first person that looked at it. That was a HUGE relief and speaks to all the custom work Sam has done on that house over the past decade.   Sweat equity for sure!  #1 (our new home, and yes, that is the house #) is our “forever home” and here’s the best part… it has a garage! The garage means that Sam got a small fishing boat. (see attached pic of his catch!) So, if you are reading this blog and you know where we are, stop by and say hello. We always have a Halloween get together (on Halloween) so that is a great time to stop by!

     

Other exciting stuff includes Kate going to camp this summer for 7 nights!   She was perfectly fine about being gone that long and did great! I was the one who was worried and missed her terribly. We were in the thick of moving so I had lots to keep me busy and it all worked out! She went to Kanakuk Kamp and it is a “game changer”. I highly recommend it and remember going as a kid for a long weekend (NOT 7 nights). I had really fond memories of it and knew it would be fun for her. She went by herself not knowing anyone. I am so proud of her! We got some of the sweetest letters mailed home and she tried many things that were out of her comfort zone such as zip lining!  Go Kate!

Those are our summer highlights and now it’s time to focus on all things Sugary and Boogery! I have two very exciting events coming up…

On August 6, 2015 at Cowork Waldo I will be at a Movie Night and Sleepover for Sleepyhead Beds reading a bedtime story and signing Sugary Boogery Books for folks. Each book is $10 and $2 of each book sold will go to Sleepyhead Beds which has a touching mission to get beds to Kansas City kids that need a place to sleep! Sounds so simple and something we take for granted… a bed, but there is a real need out there. Please consider joining us for this event at 7 PM August 6^th at Cowork Waldo!

On September 12^th at the Kansas State Capitol in Topeka, KS I will be at the Kansas Book Festival.  This is a free event where you have the chance to meet multiple authors and hear them present. I will be one of the presenting authors!  I will post details as I learn more, but this is BIG and it’s going to be sugary!

Books, books and more books! We are ready!

Sugary Boogery Life

Sugary Boogery Book makes me think of what a Sugary Boogery Life I have.  They run close to parallel.  The book journey has been mostly sugary with it now being in two bookstores (Reader’s World of Lee’s Summit and Stonecrest Book & Toy) and on-line at the major bookstore outlets (Amazon, Barnes and Noble and Books-A-Million).  This is all bookalicious!

I can’t tell you how much I appreciate the small (but mighty) bookstores, Reader’s World and Stonecrest, welcoming my book.  They are excited about it and support that “little guy” AKA me!  Reader’s World of Lee’s Summit is hosting an event next Saturday on June 6th and I am thrilled about this!  I have attached the flier below with all the details and I look forward to reading to kids!

Like I have said before…that is the BEST part… sharing it with the KIDS!  I love that piece of this experience.  Before school let out I got to visit the Kindergarten classes in Shawnee, KS at Riverview Elementary.  What a school with some super-hero teachers, Mrs. Grauer and Mrs. Starling.  The kids recited some poems they learned and that was impressive!  I love getting the kids laughing and giggling.  The hugs and high fives are great too!  I love telling them that they can write poetry and draw illustrations at any age.  They light up knowing that is a possibility!   I think the best  compliment was one of the teachers asking me if I was a teacher?  No, though sometimes I think that may have been my calling but I consider myself a teacher in other ways wether that be through this book or being involved with leading the 2nd grade Girl Scout Troop.  With that being said, school educators are special people and they deserve so much more recognition and pay than what they receive.  I think about their dedication and love for our kids and our future.  Thank you teachers and I hope you enjoy your summer!

I want to say a ginormous thank you to so many people who have inspired me and helped me promote Sugary Boogery Book... I would love to try and list them all here, but without a doubt, I would miss someone.  I am in awe by the support from friends.. ones that go back to my childhood and people that I have just started to know.  My family has been a huge support too and I am overjoyed that my 15 year old niece, Allison Baty, did some of the illustrations.  My favorite one is for the poem Photographer.  If you know the photographer, Lissy Early, it captures her personality.

There are so many people that inspired the poems for Sugary Boogery Book in big ways and small ways and to those people I say THANK YOU!  And, to those of you who are reading the book and telling others what you think… THANK YOU!  I have truly been humbled by the turn outs at the book signings, the phone calls, texts, Facebook posts, book reviews and general comments.  Thank you! Thank you!  Thank you!  I have always been somewhat defensive to feedback in my insurance claims day job simply because I take great pride in my work and I believe in my skills to do that job.  I’ve been told that I am very “passionate” about my work and that I am “tenacious”.  When you do something as personal as publishing a first-time poetry book it is even more sensitive and more meaningful!  The passion and the tenacity has served me well and for that I am grateful!

June 6th – Fun for the Entire Family!

KC Live

Today I was on KC Live and it was sugary fun!  Thank you Joel and Michelle for inviting me!  Sugary Boogery Book is available on Amazon for $9.95.  It is also for sale at Reader’s World in Lee’s Summit and Stonecrest Book and Toy in Osage Beach, MO.

http://www.amazon.com/Sugary-Boogery-Book-Healthy-Sweet/dp/0692272992/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1431024109&sr=8-1&keywords=sugary+boogery+book

• Please come see me on Saturday May 16th from 2-4 PM at One More Cup coffee shop in Waldo. We will be doing poetry readings and games. Books will be sold for $10 and $2 of each book sold will go to Pages & Chapters in Kansas City!
• On June 6th from 11AM – 1 PM I will be at Reader’s World in Lee’s Summit. This will be a fun story time for kids. There will be snacks and activities!

Are you wondering what people are saying about Sugary Boogery Book?

“We received this book as a gift and love it. The poems are super fun, and relatable for parents and kids alike. This book has helped us discover that poetry is a great format for my daughter who is still gaining confidence as an independent reader. This is one of the first books I have seen her pick up on her own, for pleasure, more than once. Thank you!” ~Heather S.

“We loved this book!! I am a mom with two young boys and our family sat down and devoured this book! We loved the prose, admittedly bathroom words and arm pits got extra chuckles at our house, but we also loved the oh so sweet I love my mom:-)! The pictures are equally delightful! Impressive first work.. We hope for more!” ~Susan Reyna

Spinning Twirling Happy Whirlwind

Life has been a spinning twirling happy whirlwind lately!  I feel like I could write 15 blog posts, but I’ll just write one and fill you in on most of the sugary details.

Sugary Boogery Book is not even one month old, but things have bloomed!  It started with a visit to Shepard Elementary School in Columbia, MO where I shared my book with K, 1st and 2nd graders.  Their giggles and smiles said it all!  They loved hearing poetry about noses, armpits and their principal — Ms. Ward (who I accidentally called “Jacquie” in front of the students 🙂   That’s a big No No!  I guess it went well because I was invited back to present to 3rd-5th graders!  Sharing Sugary Boogery Book with kids was a blast and I can’t wait to do more of that!

Someone recently asked me what the best part has been so far?  My reply, “Sharing it with kids — that’s the best part!”  I’ve gotten some touching emails, texts and comments about Sugary Boogery Book.  I’m being told that kids love it!  I’ve had people tell me that their child struggles with reading, but now they’re reading this book all the time.  This makes me so happy and the rhyming words make it easy for kids to read.  Also, I have found that kids like poetry because it is short.  They can see the end of the page which builds confidence.  Truly, the feedback has been moving and I am so grateful!

Like all of Kansas City we are big Royals fans!  We recently went to a game and Kate got to take a friend and they also took Sugary Boogery Book!  The game was very exciting, but I guess they needed a little break from time to time.   I managed to snap the picture below hoping that the camera man would also see this and put them on the jumbo-tron.  Ha!

Royals and Reading… two favorite things!

Another highlight was an author signing event that was held at Stonecrest Book & Toy in Osage Beach, MO.  First of all, that store is a gem within the Lake of the Ozarks.  It has a huge selection of books, toys and games.  Kate had fun exploring and she brought her own money to spend.  The book signing event was a first and a success!   Thanks to those that came out to see me!  I felt honored to be sitting among four other authors that had beautiful stories to tell.

As if this isn’t enough sugary excitement, I have partnered with One More Cup (my favorite Kansas City coffee shop) to do a book signing event on May 16th from 2-4 PM!   We are donating $2 of every book sold to a literacy program in Kansas City called Pages & Chapters.  I will be posting more on this upcoming event soon…very very soon!

Another sweet detail is that Reader’s World of Lee’s Summit is also carrying Sugary Boogery Book!  This is a huge thrill to know that my book is in a local bookstore.  I am so excited to see what the future holds for this store and Sugary Boogery Book.  Oh, but wait… I already know… we are doing a book signing event on Saturday June 6th!  This is going to be really really FUN!  Snacks, games and Sugary Boogery Book readings for everyone!  It starts at 11 AM and I will share more details when it gets closer.

So, this is my spinning twirling happy whirlwind in a blog post.  As a parent, I have enjoyed watching Kate appreciate the book.  She loves sharing it with others, even her stuffed animals, as seen below when we went out for breakfast this morning.  Of course, she chose to read her attentive audience “Bathroom Words”!

Sharing Sugary Boogery Book with friends!

http://www.amazon.com/Sugary-Boogery-Book-Healthy-Sweet/dp/0692272992/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1429152610&sr=8-1&keywords=sugary+boogery+book

Sugary Boogery Book – aha moment!

Life is very SUGARY right now because my debut poetry collection has been published!   Finally, after years in the making, it is a reality and that is sweet.

Last night Kate and I spent an hour on the couch reading Sugary Boogery Book and we didn’t even make it half way through  (That tells you how much content is in the book – over 100 poems and illustrations).  Listening to her read was so heartwarming!  She was seriously into it!  And it wasn’t just her reading the book, but she was interacting with it.  She laughed.  She asked questions.  She examined the illustrations.  She was engaged.  That, my friends, was my “aha” moment.  The reason why I wrote Sugary Boogery Book.  It’s just plain easy FUN for kids!

Sugary Boogery Book is now available on Amazon.  I’m happy to say it is being offered for under $10 making it affordable for everyone!  Another sugary fact is that my 15-year-old niece, Allison Baty, assisted with the illustrations.

Attached is the link for Sugary Boogery Book.

http://www.amazon.com/Sugary-Boogery-Book-Healthy-Sweet/dp/0692272992/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1429152610&sr=8-1&keywords=sugary+boogery+book

Thank you for reading my blog and I hope you enjoy the book!