Do you remember laughing so hard...

There are times in my life I laughed so hard I couldn't breathe. I laughed so hard that if I recall those moments now, years, perhaps decades later, I smile, maybe even chuckle.

Can you remember those moments in your life? Laughter is so important heart. Proverbs tell us a merry heart works like medicine.

I thought I'd recall the top laugh times in my life and hopefully inspire some of you. Leave your stories in the comments if you want. :)

Family

We laughed a lot in my family. A top laugh time would be watching my dad's big but silent laugh as he listened to Bill Cosby's "Roland and the Rollercoaster." I loved hearing my parents laugh with their friends, which they did a lot.

Here are my own personal laugh times:

Playing the game Pente with my youngest brother and sister, Pete and Beka, during college Christmas break. I was cheating, and when Pete finally realized... He gazed up at me, appauled and said, "You're cheating." I laughed so hard I couldn't breathe!

Went to see an Eddie Murphy movie with my brother Danny. Eddie was doing a bit about whining to his mom to take him to McDonalds like all the other kids. She said, "I can make you a burger at home." He goes on to describe the scene. Danny and I were laughing so hard, because you know, we'd heard the same conversation from our Mom and Grandma, we couldn't breathe. Danny was gripping my arm, stamping his foot, laughing, hoping to draw air soon.

Sharing a room with my sister Beka about twenty years ago when I'd just graduated from Ohio State. We were talking about writing, (she was in high school,) and I said I didn't want to write some cheesy story like, "and we turned twelve cartwheels into the fullness of an oak tree." We burst out laughing! Laughed and laughed. We still quote that line today.

There are many other laugh moments, worthy of blogging, but those are the ones that stick out to me.

Friends

Laughter for me usually comes with an element of surprise, the non-obvious, perhaps the blatant obvious, the humor in every day events.

My roommate pre Tony, Renee was a mentor to a girl from youth who hung out at the apartment sometimes, Sheree. She was the quiet type. Seriously quiet. One night she was at our apartment while Renee, Tony and I were debating who among us was the funniest. I said, "I'm the funniest person you know."

Renee claimed she was, countered by Tony. Suddenly, out of nowhere, the silent-for-hours Sheree said softly, "I'm the funniest person you know."

We howled and at that very moment, it was true! She was the funniest person we knew.

Wow, nothing else is rising to the surface of my brain and I know I laughed a lot with friends. Suzanne, Kathy, Connie and Michelle.

Okay, here's one. The summer before I graduated from Ohio State, Connie Snider Gleason and I did nothing but laugh. We both worked on the newspaper as photographers. She came in one day telling me a story about spotting one of our fellow photographers, Rich, out looking for a feature photo. We were required to turn in so many for the quarter. As she tells the story, he was walking down High Street, camera around his neck, looking up in the trees, turning circles, as if the feature photo might just drop on his head. Oh, we laughed so hard! So very hard.

Spent some time at the Flying Tomato, a local pizza place right by the Phi Mu house, and laughed a whole bunch.

Work

Many, many laughing stories from work. I joined Harris Publishing now Media Span in '86. There were a few new grads who joined at the same time and we hung out some in the beginning. Sometimes we'd travel together.

Julie Love and I went to Martha's Vineyard to install a classified advertising system. We worked and laughed a lot. What else can you do on Martha's Vineyard in early December?

For awhile, all the trainers and roadies were in the engineering department. We'd have quarterly meetings where the team was updated on... whatever. The Veep of Engineering was a nice man from India. He had a deep voice, and the standard English-Indian accent.

So, we're all gathered in a board room, stuffed in there like sardines, when the director of engineering gets up to present. Now, this was pre Power Point, so graphs and data were displayed with an overhead projector. It gets embarrassing for me here. D of E slips his presentation under the projector. Immediately it's obvious he didn't account for any enlargement of the projector and used a point size too big. I mean, the letters showing on the screen were half as tall as he was!

We all smiled, giggled, wondered silently, "What point size did you use, Jim." This goes on for about two, three minutes when in the midst of Jim's review, the Veep of Engineering says in his deep, accented voice, "Gee Jim, what point size did you use."

We all laughed, but I lost it. Could. Not. Stop. Laughing. I tried, but ended up snorting. My boss whispered, "Do you need to leave the room." I pinched my laugh, shook my head and kept my eyes focused on the table. The girl sitting next to me said, "Oh, don't look up."

Snort, laugh, snort, laugh! I wanted to go out of the room and let it go so bad, but I couldn't. I mean, it's the '80s, it's Yuppiville, you can't act THAT unprofessional. Oooo, it was funny, and ooo it was embarrassing. But I love the memory.

In '88 Harris sent me Down Under to do some training in Australia. (Hi, Rel!) I love Australia. I'd visit more if it weren't so darn far away... and if I had some money.

In Sydney, I met with our distributor and my Australian counterpart, Sean. New to the job, Sean was nervous about our trip to Tamworth and the training, but I assured him all would be well. Sean had a very dry, but witty sense of humor.

Day one on the job, I laughed and laughed. Out of the blue stuff, but so funny. Like, this big, tall, lumbering man who worked on the system we were training, comes up to Sean and asked, "I can't remember, how do I get into the system tables again?"

They started discussing, and the man says, "Yes, I remember it's alt, control, delete." He beamed, so proud. Next day, he couldn't remember so he's asking Sean again. Very dryly, Sean says, "I want you to remember, never forget, alt, control, delete."

Really, you had to be there, and there's a middle piece I'm forgetting, but I laughed so hard I had to leave the room and put myself in a corner.

Walking back to our hotel from the paper, Sean grouses how his cheap boss wouldn't rent us a car, going on about having Burger King for "tea." I fell to the sidewalk, laughing.

I'd lay in bed and night, laughing out loud over the things Sean said or did that day.

A few months later, I went back to Australia, (looong back to back trips me no like) this time going to a trade show in Melbourne. Again, Sean is very nervous about demoing the equipment to newspaper suits, so we practice and work on technique. I show him how to do certain things, like free drawing an arrow to use in a display ad, or whatever.

During one of my demos, I pulled up the saved, sketched arrow, showing how it could be used in a display ad, but also how it could be modified. Basically, I mess up the arrow. Demo over, Sean's up next, but I don't tell him I destroyed the arrow.

He pulls up the arrow. What's wrong with it? He panics, deletes it from the screen and pulls is up again. Still messed up! He panics. And he sweats when he panics.

Next demo, it's me again and he's sitting beside me. As I pull up the lopsided arrow, I lean over to Sean, "Oh yea, I messed up the arrow."

"Now you tell me... I thought the system had eaten it."

In front of five dark suits from Rural Press, I start to laugh. But I can't laugh, I have to do a demo. The more I try not to laugh, the hard I want to laugh and the moment I pictured a panicked Sean, my torso is full of explosive laughter.

I flew through the last of the demo, got up, ran to the break room, fell on the little couch and laughed for oh, fifteen minutes.

Yeah, Mr. Mason made me laugh. Still does 20 years later.

To be continued.... more work laughter, and husband laughter tomorrow!

Let Them Eat Cake by Sandra Byrd

Please welcome my friend and author, Sandra Byrd! She has a wonderful chickmance I was proud to endorse, and Let Them Eat Cake was a finalist in this year's Christy Awards!


…Chick-lit never tasted so good! LET THEM EAT CAKE is one of those rare chick lit novels that integrates faith elements without being preachy, and includes plenty of romance without it being the only point of the protagonist's existence. . .
Five star review, faithfulreader.com


About the book!

Lexi Stuart is at a critical crossroads. She's done with college but still living at home, ready to launch a career but unable to find a job, and solidly stalled between boyfriends.

When a lighthearted conversation in French with the manager of her favorite bakery turns into a job offer, Lexi accepts. But the actual glamour is minimal: the pay is less than generous, her co-workers are skeptical, her bank account remains vertically-challenged, and her parents are perpetually disappointed. Her only comfort comes from the flirtatious baker she has her eye-but even may not be who he seems to be!

So when a handsome young executive dashes into the bakery to pick up his high profile company's special order for an important meeting-an order Lexi has flubbed– she loses her compulsion to please. "What am I going to do?" he shouts.

"Let them eat cake!" she fires back with equal passion and a nod to Marie Antoinette. And then, something inside Lexi clicks. Laissez la revolution commencer! Let the revolution begin! Instead of trying to fulfill everyone else's expectations for her life, Lexi embarks on an adventure in trusting God with her future–tres bon!


About Sandra:

Best selling author Sandra Byrd married the country boy who accepted her dare to eat escargot, and lives with him and their two children in Seattle, Washington. She's published nearly three dozen books in the Christian market including her latest series, French Twist, which includes Let Them Eat Cake (2007) and Bon Appetit (September, 2008). Most of her other books are for the Young Adult market, and she's published a book for new moms, Heartbeats.

Many of Sandra's shorter works appear in periodical markets such as Relevant, Clubhouse Magazine, Pockets, Decision, and Guideposts.

For the past seven years Sandra has shared her secrets with the many students she mentors through the Christian Writer's Guild. Before turning to full time writing, Sandra was an acquisitions editor in the ABA market.

Sandra's first submission - and rejection - was at age 12.

Recipe Alert!

Boyfriend Bait Beef Stroganoff

1 1/2 pounds beef tenderloin, well trimmed, meat cut bite-sized pieces (about 1” square)
4 tablespoons (3/4 stick) butter
1/2 cup finely chopped shallots
2 ½ cups sliced mushrooms
2 cups canned beef broth

3 tsp corn starch
1 cup sour cream
2 tsp Dijon mustard

Over medium high heat, gently sauté beef tenderloin in 2 tablespoons of butter for about 2 minutes, till just seared on all side. You’ll still be able to see red. Remove from pan and set aside in a rimmed dish or baking sheet so you collect the juices.

Over medium high heat, sauté shallots and mushrooms in remaining butter until soft and wilted, about 5 minutes. Mix corn starch into cold beef broth, whisk to blend. Pour into pan, and stir together with shallots and mushrooms till thickened, two or three minutes.

Add sour cream and mustard, stir to blend. Add beef and juices from dish; stir over medium just till warmed through. Sauce will coat but not be overly thick. Serve immediately over noodles or white rice, salt to taste.

Book Clubs

I love book clubs. There's a resurgence of them these days - as well as things like knitting clubs. I met a fifteen year old girl who loved to knit.

Tonight I was honored to join a book club who'd read Sweet Caroline. It was fun to meet and talk about the book, hear how the reader interpreted relationships and scenarios. It put me in a whole different mind set of considering how different readers are, and their responses.

I can't write to that, I'd go crazy, but I can work to find unique angles. I love discussing a book after it's done. How it came about, why I made the decisions I made in writing or rewriting it.

This book club was a kind, smart group of women. Hopefully I'll have some pictures in a few days.

Dignity in Death

Allison Wilson and I drove up to Kristy Dykes funeral yesterday. It's always good to spend time with Allison, but we were both looking forward to Kristy's home going ceremony.

Unfortunately, we arrived late due to the keen-o feature of her husband's Porsch-a 911. Automatically lock the doors if the key is not in the ignition. The fact that the keys were in the driver's seat made no difference. Yes, we were locked out of the car sixty-three miles south of Jacksonville.

Nevertheless, the part of the ceremony we did participate in was so sweet, and infused with the presence of God. I teared up many times. Not so much of missing Kristy, although that is part of it, but because the Spirit of God, the Love of God permeated the room.

For about a minute, I physically felt jealous of Kristy. She's with Jesus!!

For me, and I'm sure many of the hundreds at the service, and those who witnessed her life and death on the blog, she reminded me of the way I want to live. In doing so, reminded me of the way I want to die. With dignity, with the love I have for Jesus infecting thousands.

How am I spending my time? What am I doing with my money and my words? How am I loving people? At the end of my life, those things are the only things that really matter.

You know how I'm convinced Kristy knew and loved the God-Man Jesus? Because in her dying, in her weak-conscious moments she worshipped Him, she radiated His love, she knew and experience His grace and peace.

The most impactful moment for me was when Milton told Kristy right before she died, "You won, Kristy, you won!"

Every time I hear or read those words, I cry. But it's deeper than what Milton proclaimed over Kristy. It's what Jesus is proclaiming over us, His Bride.

In out dying, beloved, we win! Die to self, you win. Die for Jesus, figuratively or literally, you win!!

"I run the race in order to win the prize."

See you soon, Kristy

Friend and author Kristy Dykes graduated to the next life yesterday. Her husband blogs about it here.

Kristy was a shining spot to so many of us writers. A cheerleader, an exhorter. You can see from Milton's writings she was a loving, kind, spunky wife and mother.

Mostly she loved Jesus and reflected His light with a passion. Cancer took Kristy in this life, but has no power where she is now.

In juxtaposition, I occasionally follow a blog by another woman struggling with cancer. This woman does not know Jesus. In the course of her journey, her husband left her, she's sick, broke and alone. Bitter.

Watching two people struggle and die in cyberspace was a unique experience, but watching one who loves Jesus compared to one who doesn't, was sad. I feel for the latter. "Jesus, reveal yourself."

We will all miss Kristy. "Friend, see you very soon. We'll start a writing group that will last for eternity!"

Thank you Milton and family for being such a great example of Christian charity and exposing the inner heart of Kristy.

Plagiarism, or a simple, common phrase

So, I'm reading The Great Gatsby (by F. Scott Fitzgerald for those of you who live in a hole ;) and came across this dialog exchange between Mrs. Wilson an her neighbor, Mrs. McKee:

"I like your dress," remarked Mrs. McKee, "I think it's adorable."
Mrs. Wilson rejected the compliment by raising her eyebrow in disdain. "It's just a crazy old thing," she said. "I just slip it on sometimes when I don't care how I look."

I stopped reading, grinning. I know that line. Almost word for word, perhaps down to the raised eyebrow. Do you know it? Haven't you heard this line before?

Let me refresh your memory.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Bailey."
"Hello, Violet. Hey, you look good. That's some dress you got on there."
"What! This old thing? Why I only wear it when I don't care how I look."

Now do you remember? It's an exchange between George Bailey and Violet Bicks from It's A Wonderful Life, adapted from The Greatest Gift by Phillip Van Doran Stern.

Did Stern lift from Fitzgerald? The Great Gatsby was published in 1925 and touted as one of the great books of it's time, of our time.

Stern wrote The Greast Gift in the late '30s, first published after the movie in the mid-40s.

It's not inconceivable that a woman would say, "I just wear this dress when I don't care who I look."

But the similarities are striking between the movie dialog and the scene in Gatsby. I even think Violet Bicks flips up an eyebrow when she addressed George. She flips her hair for sure.

The tone is different. Mrs. Wilson's is more of indifference while Violet is clearly flirting. But otherwise... hmm. ;)

Perhaps Stern didn't write the line in his novel, perhaps it's the work of an unnamed screenwriter. Perhaps an ad-lib by the actress.

Just goes to show, there's nothing really new under the sun.

Healing well

Thanks to all the kind comments about my cold-thing. I'm feeling better. Still vocally weak and raspy, but the throat swelling and pain is gone.

TMI? Moving on, right...

Worked on my new book today. I have this cool program, Scrivener, a true author tool for Macs. I've never found author tools to be much help, but this one makes organizing thoughts and plotting easy. You can color code and label index cards per point of view, or whatever. You can even write the book in Scrivener then export to Word.

So, I'm having fun.

I really wanted a cool opening line. I've become particular about them. They should, IMHO, reflect the theme or some point of the story. And, thanks to Jesus, i did come up with a great opening line. That was enough to get me going through the opening scenes.

Yesterday I outlined as much of the books as possible - beginning, middle and end - but we shall see if I have enough or too much story. I never know until I get into the book if I need to more research or character development.

Love Starts With Elle is doing well, I think. That's to all who blogged and/or reviewed. It just came out and is already in a second printing!

Look on my home page to see the book trailer.

More later!

Okay...

I'm sick. Yes. I have some kind of soar throat, no voice thing going on and it happens every time I go to a conference or writer's event.

Well, almost happens every time. What up?

I'm getting a little better, but still sluggish and not in favor of talking much. Maybe that's a good thing. I'd rather be known for what I don't say than what I do say.

It's hard to keep quiet, not speak, hold the tongue, keep our opinion to ourselves. I've been working on this lately and find that I feel "empowered" when I remain in check, quiet, thoughtful.

One, keeping quiet is often respecting others, letting them speak. Two, most of us just plain ole talk too much and we're not really saying anything.

I want to be effective with my speech as well as my writing. I had an encounter with God about taming my sarcasticness. Let me tell you, I haven't forgotten it, and have been on a journey to speak well and wise for many, many years.

Most of you are thinking, "Rachel, we must speak up. We have to stand against evil."

Yes, we do. We must be vocal about abortion and sin-that-runs-amuck in our country. But we have never really taken the time to learn to love. Our words are often as lifeless and fruitless as our counterparts.

They are speaking wind, and so are we.

What is God doing and saying?

I was speaking with author and pastor Randy Alcorn today and he told of a talk he gave at a Bible school. His opening line was a quote from Hebrews, but he spoke without the reference. He asked how many believed his statement. "All will face the judgment seat of Christ, giving account of all his deeds, good or bad." (Rachel translation.)

Only two people out of about 150 raised their hand. Two. When he clarified chapter and verse, then asked again, "who believes this is true?" only half raised their hands.

If we are going to claim and cling to Christ, we should know Him. Lose the notion it's not possible to know God. It is possible. Not in His entirety and completeness, but more than enough for me and you, and the human spirit.

Anyway, I say all that to remind myself the beauty of silence. Letting the weightiness of God seep in to my soul.

From A Distance, by Tamera Alexander

Please welcome friend and fellow author, Tamera Alexander. Tammy and I have known each other since our pre-pubbed days and I'm loving all God is doing with her writing. She's lovely inside and out.

Tammy's penned another fabulous historical for Bethany House. Be sure to check it out.

About "From A Distance"

What happens when dreams aren't what you imagined, and secrets you've spent a lifetime guarding are finally laid bare?

Determined to become one of the country's premier newspaper photographers, Elizabeth Westbrook travels to the Colorado Territory to capture the grandeur of the mountains surrounding the remote town of Timber Ridge. She hopes, too, that the cool, dry air of Colorado, and its renowned hot springs, will cure the mysterious illness that threatens her career, and her life.

Daniel Ranslett, a former Confederate sharpshooter, is a man shackled by his past, and he'll do anything to protect his land and his solitude. When an outspoken Yankee photographer captures an image that appears key to solving a murder, putting herself in danger, Daniel is called upon to repay a debt. He's a man of his word, but repaying that debt will bring secrets from his past to light.

Forced on a perilous journey together, Daniel and Elizabeth’s lives intertwine in ways neither could have imagined when first they met . . . from a distance.

". . . a rich historical romance by possibly the best new writer in this subgenre."
- - Library Journal

". . . a most amazing story. The characters are more than words on the page; they become real people."
- - Romantic Times


Catching up with Tamera. . .

Tamera Alexander is a bestselling novelist whose deeply drawn characters, thought-provoking plots and poignant prose resonate with readers.

Tamera is a finalist for the 2008 Christy Award (Remembered), and has been awarded the coveted RITA from Romance Writers of America (Revealed), along with Library Journal's Top Christian Fiction of 2006 (Rekindled).

Having lived in Colorado for seventeen years, she and her husband now make their home in the quaint town of historic Franklin, Tennessee, where they enjoy life with their two college-age children and a precious - and precocious - silky terrier named Jack.


A Note from Tamera:

Stories are journeys, and each story I write is a journey for me.

Rekindled began with a dream - the image of a man returning home on horseback. He came upon a freshly dug grave and when he knelt to read the name carved into the roughhewn wooden cross, he discovered the name was. . . his own.

The inspiration for Revealed grew from two characters in Rekindled whose stories needed to be told. But even more, whose stories I needed to tell. Writing Revealed was a very personal journey for me, and a healing one.

For Remembered, I met that story's heroine (figuratively, of course) while strolling the ancient cobblestoned pathways of a three hundred-year-old cemetery in northern Paris, France.

And From a Distance came from a question I was struggling with in my own life at the time, "What happens when the dream you asked God for isn't what you thought it would be?"

For me, the greatest thrill of these writing journeys is when Christ reveals Himself in some new way, and I take a step closer to Him. And my deepest desire is that readers of my books will do that as well - take steps closer to Him as they read. After all, it's all about Him.

In the Potter's Hand,
Tamera

First chapter link:

A day at Cocoa Beach

Friend and author Susan May Warren is visiting for a few days before we head over to Orlando for a writer's retreat, and the beginning of International Christian Retail Show.

Yesterday, we buzzed around town - unfortunately it's raining so we can't put the top down - and went over to Melbourne Beach, then up A1A to Cocoa Beach to Ron Johns, and walking in the sand.

It's been fun. We talk writing and MyBookTherapy, and about God and faith. How great Jesus is to us.

Then we stopped by my friend's who made a trailer for Love Starts With Elle. It's loading to You Tube as we speak. He made an animated Elle and we "converse."

Stay tuned for more on the trailer.

Cutting hair

I cut my hair today. Well, my stylist cut my hair. It's pretty short. But cute, if I say so myself. (See notes on final line of blog.)

I'm a big believer in cutting hair. Religious convictions aside - I'll leave those between the individual and God - but hair can become an idol, a way to get our identity.

Women won't cut their long hair no matter how tired and frayed it looks for fear of losing their identity, or their husband's love. Young women might not cut their hair for fear of losing their identity, or beauty.

We had two lovely girls in youth years ago with gorgeous long hair - dark, sleek. They showed up one Sunday night, sheered, cut just below their chins.

I cheered for them. They were gorgeous. All these years later, they still are. One never grew her hair long again. She's had many different styles. The other grew hers long again and has never cut it. But she did once! Good for her.

We have to do it, ladies, take the plunge, cut our hair, face the challenge of not hiding behind our locks.

Same with men, I think. They can get just as vain or attached to their hair or beards as women.

Three times in my life I've cut my long hair short. Scary? A little. Freeing? A lot. I feel like I can change my appearance without losing my confidence, my identity, my beauty.

Sometimes we just have to say, "Change" and trust God.

Hair for some reason seems to be a huge symbol of change, of breaking free.

I knew a woman once with long hair, really long, and she refused to cut it. She claimed her husband didn't want her to, but knowing him, he would've supported any decision she wanted to make about her hair. I believe she was the one clinging. I came to understand her hair was her security, her mantle, her identity. But cutting it might have caused her to address other issues in her life she'd also been hanging onto since the '60s.

Then again, maybe not. I just wonder.

Now, don't go being a rebel and cut your hair to spite someone, or snub your religious views. But in my experience, cutting my hair has always freed me.

And, I look darn cute. (Did I mention how hard it is to take your own digital pic. And give grace, I was too lazy to put on makeup. Might as well take the vanity thing to the edge - cut hair and show the world with a naked face.)

Welcome Linda Hall

Please welcome fellow author, Linda Hall, talking this week about her new LI Suspense, Shadows At The Window, which earned Top Pick from Romantic Times Book Club Reviews


Hi Linda, tell us about SHADOWS AT THE WINDOW.

Shadows at the Window is the second in my "shadows" trilogy. The women in these series of books must deal with and work through the ‘shadows’ in their pasts before they can make peace and find love in the present.

In the first of the series, Shadows at the Mirror, the main character doesn't know anything about her past. It’s a mystery she must uncover.

In this release, Shadows at the Window, main character Lilly Johnson knows her past all too well, and it's one she'd rather forget. Because it's so abhorrent to her, she's made up a series of lies that she tells her fiance.

But, the past has a way of catching up with the present, and when people in her past show up, her first inkling is to run. But, that would mean leaving everything behind, and that's something she's not willing to do now.

Sounds great!

About Linda:

Linda Hall is the award - winning author of fifteen mystery and romantic suspense novels and many short stories. Her latest release, Shadows at the Window (July '08) is a Romantic Times Top Pick for the month, and the first in her shadows trilogy, Shadows in the Mirror is a winner in The Word Guild's Canadian Christian Writing Awards. It is also a finalist in the Reader's Choice Awards.

In addition, both Sadie's Song and Steal Away were short listed for the Christy Award. Steal Away was a Daphne finalist, the Beacon Award winner for Best Inspirational Novel, the Winter Rose Award Winner for Best Inspirational Novel, and was given the Award of Excellence from the Colorado Romance Writers.

Linda is a member of the Romance Writers of America, the American Christian Fiction Writers, The Word Guild and the Crime Writers of Canada.

Most of her novels have something to do with the sea. Linda grew up in New Jersey and it was there that her love of the ocean was born. In 1971 she married a Canadian and has lived in Canada since then. She has worked as a news reporter and feature writer for a number of years and also has written curriculum for adult literacy programs.

In 1990 she decided to do something she'd always dreamed of doing, she began working on a novel. Since that time she has written fifteen.

Linda and her husband enjoy sailing, are both very involved in CPS (The boating safety group in Canada) and both have achieved the highest level in that organization, namely Senior Navigator.

She and her husband have two grown children and three (soon to be four) wonderful grandchildren and they make their home in the Canadian maritime province of New Brunswick. (Just drive to the end of I-95 and turn right.)