Today is Heat Stroke Prevention Day. It’s designed to remind people of the danger of leaving children in cars.
I know, we talk this subject to death. And yet death is the result for 19 kids so far this year. The adults responsible include a hospital CEO and a foster father. And who knows HOW many animals have died?
As I’ve said before, Rumpy loves to lie out in the hot sun. I stay out with him and make him come in after a few minutes.
So why DO people leave kids in cars?
A study of the phenomenon found that:
51% – child “forgotten” by caregiver
29% – child playing in unattended vehicle
18% – child intentionally left in vehicle by adult (yes, they knew what they were doing, but didn’t think anything would happen)
1% – circumstances unknown
With animals, it’s almost always an intentional choice.
On the radio morning show this morning, they did a phone survey asking what things you’ve been meaning to do/need to do but have been putting off. That got me thinking, and I was a bit surprised by how many things there are:
I’ve slipped a little on my daily word count goal. But that’s not really putting off.
I’d been putting off getting a new car, but I took care of that over the weekend.
I’ve been intending to get out and socialize more, but had been putting it off (one reason being the beat-up old car I’d been using).
I’ve been intending to start going to church again, but have been putting that off, too.
I’ve been intending to get new glasses but haven’t gotten around to it yet.
My hair could probably use a trim, but I’ve been putting it off because I’ve been thinking of growing it out.
I have a group of short stories I’ve been thinking of compiling together and putting out on Amazon, but haven’t done it yet.
Going through clothes in my closet.
Sorting through the stuff I took out of my old car before I traded it in.
Exercising.
So, what sort of things have you been putting off doing lately?
Ah, yeah. Seems like that’s been my life lately: a victim of procrastination again. Hope to fix it soon. Didn’t make my word count goal today. Only made it about halfway.
How to Get More Readers from an Award Publicity around a book award will boost your book sales. Contests are a great way to hone your craft and show the world how much better you are than other writers. Winning a book award for your self-published fiction or nonfiction book is a great way to gain recognition and approval. You will not only see an increase your book sales – if you market it well, you also can add the award sticker to your cover and mention the achievement on your back cover, in your books’ description, and in all your marketing and promotions – online or offline. Most awards call for entries every year, so if the competition is closed for this year, mark your calender for next years’ contest call.
I’ve managed to get away from my daily word goal again. I was doing pretty well with it last week, but over the weekend, I got busy with various things, including ending up buying a new(er) vehicle. And this afternoon after work I had a few things to take care of regarding that. I think everything is done with that now, so I hope to get back to my daily goal thing tomorrow. Keeping my fingers crossed.
I have been nominated for a Liebster Award! Wow! How unexpected this is! Thank you so much to http://mommyx4boys.wordpress.com for the nomination. I truly appreciate it. This is my first award here on WordPress, since I’m relatively new here.
Okay, now, let’s see…
The rules for this award are…
1. Thank the person who nominated you for the award
2. Display the banner/sticker/logo on your blog
3. Answer the questions the award giver asked
4. List 11 facts about yourself
5. List your nominees
The questions I’ve been given:
1. If you had one wish what would it be?
– Only one wish? Well, I’d love to be a relatively famous author, with a contract with a big publisher 😀
2. If you could change one law, what would it be and why?
-probably repeal “ObamaCare”. I understand the motivations, but I’ve always thought it was silly to force people to pay for insurance when a lot of people still can’t afford it thanks to the bad economy, and it hasn’t really worked out like “they” had hoped it would.
3. What is your favorite movie?
-Oh, I have a lot of movies I love. Casablanca, The Princess Bride, My Cousin Vinny, Monty Python and Holy Grail, Lord of the Rings, Ghostbusters, etc.
4. What is your dream job?
-full-time author 🙂 or something where I can work with animals, probably. cat behaviorist might be interesting.
5. If you could travel to a different time period, when would it be?
-I’ve always been fascinated with Ancient Egypt. If reincarnation is real, maybe I was an Egyptian in a past life. It might explain my love for cats 😀 I’ve also been interested in the Middle Ages.
6. Do you love zombies, if not why?
-they’re not my favorite, but I don’t hate them. I like some zombie movies, like Resident Evil and World War Z, but for the most part they just don’t catch my interest. I’m more into vampires and ghosts.
7. Who is your favorite actor/actress
-I love Johnny Depp 😀 I’ve also recently become a fan Benedict Cumberbatch and David Tennant.
8. Do you now or have you ever had a nickname?
-a couple of women I used to work with used to call me “Boo” and “Jeannetta”.
9. What would you want your last meal to be?
-one last trip to a Chinese buffet 😀
10. What is your biggest fear?
-being broke
11. Do you think im awesome?
Yes 😀
11 Facts about me:
1-I consider myself an introvert.
2-I’m named after Joan of Arc.
3-I think of myself as a bit of a tomboy.
4-I could easily become a crazy cat lady if conditions were right.
5-I believe in soul mates, and am still looking for mine.
6-I don’t care much for romantic movies.
7-I have an eclectic taste in music.
8-I’ve been writing stories since high school.
9-I have green eyes.
10-I’m 5 ft. tall
11-My favorite color is purple.
Ok. Now my nominations. Since I’m new here, I might not know many people to chose. If I chose someone and they’ve recently done this, forgive me.
I would like to share a letter sent to me by a fellow independent author, who wishes to remain anonymous, about a website claiming to be promoting independent authors, when in reality it appears that they are offering free downloads of the work of dozens of us.
If you are an author, independent or otherwise, I urge you to read this letter and investigate the site yourself. Find out if your work is posted there and take appropriate action to have it removed, or, at the very least, make sure you are willing to grant permission to the site owners to list your work.
Making money as an independent author is difficult enough without pirating sites giving our work away under false pretenses AND without our permission.
Please share, tweet or reblog this post in order to spread the word through the independent author community and, hopefully, put some pressure…
As I’ve said before, Rumpy loves to lie out in the hot sun. I stay out with him and make him come in after a few minutes. 
Jeanne Owens, author 