Christmas Glamorama!

This year my sister, Norrie (and I imagine my neice Cami had something to do with it), surprised me with some Christmas decor hand-me-downs from Nordstrom. They are so fabu-fun-a-licious, I had to share them and thank them for thinking of me!

Afterall, every girl needs a little Christmas Glam! Thank you!!!

Let it Snow

So, Utah got dumped on yesterday... finally. Now, as you may know, I'm not a big fan of snow. I don't ski and I'm not particularly crazy about a white Christmas. However, there are a few things about snow I do love. They are:

1) Ice Skating - yes, you can do this inside, year round and you don't need snow, but there is nothing like skating outside on a rink with the beauty of snow all around you.

2) How the field next to my house looks, covered in white, with the contrast of beautiful, bare, black-barked trees against it. This view is breath-taking with the morning sun streaking across the white blanket.

3) DOG SLEDDING! One of the funnest things I have ever done in my life was dog-sledding in Canada. About two years ago, I went with some friends to the beautiful land of Whistler. We not only got to sit on the sled, we got to MUSH! Take a look at the video I took while mushing!

Just one thing I want to know... Where can I dog-sled in Utah?

"Phillip" Book Update...

Thanks to everyone who has encouraged me about my book, PHILLIP FIRES THE TOOTH FAIRY. Just wanted to give you an update. The literary agent is still reviewing. He said he has started it, but needs more time to finish it (so happy he is reading the whole thing! The ending is the best part).



Thanks to Clarrisa G., the book will be sent to a certain Hollywood family (mother is actor, husband director, nine-year-old daughter reader) in the next few days. Hoping they will love it and want to give it to their good friends at Dreamworks or Warner Bros. or perhaps produce it themselves. Everybody pray.

And, last, but certainly not least, Kurt G. is working on a set of illustrations for a couple of my characters. Here is his first round of Lanna and Infinon. I'll show you the next set when they are done.

Support Your Local Author

Congratulations to my friend Natalyn Lewis on her new book! It's a journey of hope and you will love her stories and style.

If you would like to support this first-time author, Click Here to purchase her book. Makes a great Christmas gift!

Marie, Marie, Marie

You know, I don't even know what to say.

I Love L.A.

A couple of weeks ago I visited Los Angeles on a business trip and was reminded why I like it so much. I have people in my life who think I am crazy for liking L.A. for the following reasons:

1. Traffic
2. Traffic
3. Sprawl
4. Real Estate prices
5. Dirty ghettos
6. People with fake body parts
7. Earthquakes
8. Wild fires
9. An army of wanna-be's
10. Britney Spears
11. Traffic

And yes, I agree that although none of the above are appetizing, as I sat in the Century Plaza hotel and overlooked both the MGM building and the GORGEOUS CAA building (which I couldn't stop staring at - see above), a familiar feeling washed over me and I was finally able to articulate why I love L.A.

There is an underlying current there. It gets into the pores of your skin and under your tongue and its not the weather. It is, in fact, the feeling that anything is possible.

I don't feel it anywhere else in the world like I do in L.A. Whenever I stay there, I go home believing that I could try just about anything and it would work out for me. What a gift. I try to hold onto it here in Utah and although it exists inside me, it is never quite as palpable as in L.A.

So, while the fires burn in the west, I'm hoping that they do not burn away the underlying feeling of potential that I love.

Perhaps instead, we could lose the Spears-paparazi-frenzie? Hmmm. Does anyone have a lighter?

Real People Who Inspire Me

Everyone who knows me knows I love an inspiring book or movie. And, yes, a good tale of redemption or triumph is a great escape. But, the inspiration that seems to resonate loudest in my ears and linger the longest is the kind I get from the people in my life. The real people.

For some reason, I seem to be particularly lucky with having a lot of REAL people in my life who have recently REALLY inspired me because they took a risk.

Here are just a few...

1) Jake Bryant who is living 2 of his dreams - he bought THE camera and is in a film this month.
2) Anganel Davis for taking a risk and changing it up - love the new hair!
3) Jill Harmon - She bought the bike! Now she's an easy rider and living one of her dreams!
4) And last but not least, my brother Larry. For taking a chance on two of his passions he has had since childhood. Congratulations to my favorite award-winning racing photographer!


"Blue Blur" by Larry Knight, 1st place Amateur Photography, Utah State Fair

Warming Your Heart

This was sent to me by a friend and I couldn't resist...


In 1986, Mike Membre was on holiday in Kenya after graduating from Northwestern University .

On a hike through the bush, he came across a young bull elephant standing with one leg raised in the air. The elephant seemed distressed, so Membre approached it very carefully.

He got down on one knee and inspected the elephant's foot and found a large piece of wood deeply embedded in it.

As carefully and as gently as he could, Membre worked the wood out with his hunting knife, after which the elephant gingerly put down its foot. The elephant turned to face the man, and with a rather curious look on its face, stared at him for several tense moments.

Membre stood frozen, thinking of nothing else but being trampled. Eventually the elephant trumpeted loudly, turned, and walked away. Membre never forgot that elephant or the events of that day.

Twenty years later, Membre was walking through the Chicago Zoo with his teenaged son. As they approached the elephant enclosure, one of the creatures turned and walked over to near where Membre and his son Cantri were standing. The large bull elephant stared at Membre, lifted its front foot off the ground, then put it down. The elephant did that several times then trumpeted loudly, all the while staring at the man.

Remembering the encounter in 1986, Membre couldn't help wondering if this was the same elephant.

Membre summoned up his courage, climbed over the railing and made his way into the enclosure. He walked right up to the elephant and stared back in wonder. The elephant trumpeted again, wrapped its trunk around one of Membre' s legs and raised him high into the air and slammed him against the railing, killing him instantly.

Probably wasn't the same elephant

Pedicures, Mother Theresa & Astral Projection

So, critics of our fair county often bemoan the homogeneity of the citizens. After going to New York, I remembered that there are places in the world where I am -- refreshingly -- a minority (being blond and blue-eyed).

I had an interesting experience that illustrates how variety can be found even in Provo if you look... sitting in a pedicure chair. The Viet Namese man who was working on me had a tat consisting of a set of wings and a number. When I asked him what it represented, he proceeded to explain that it represented the date that his soul took flight... without his body.

"Ah," I said, "How interesting. Tell me more."

He proceeded to give me his personal treatise on how astral projection is possible in every religion, although very few people have the skills to achieve it.

"Hmmm. Please explain," I pressed.

"Take Mother Theresa, for example..." he went on to extol the virtues of her life only to criticise her for never finding the kind of outer body enlightenment that he had.

After several minutes of this interesting diatribe, he left me to dry. As I contemplated his words about enlightenment and life, I wondered if I had happened on some special being, a guru of some kind... here, in a pedicure chair in little old Utah County.

Then, I looked at my paint job.

Well, you can't be good at everything. Maybe he should spend more time out of his body.

K.K. Rowling?

So, the good news!

A certain literary agent -- who will remain unnamed (but part of Dystel Literary Agency)-- contacted me while I was in NYC. He asked for my full manuscript which after some help from my good friend Shannon Farmer (thanks Shan!) I felt ready to send him yesterday morning.

Now we wait. And hope. And pray.

I have a photo of J.K. Rowling over my computer in my home office. I will go home and meditate on it this evening.

New York Minute

I'm in New York this week for the HBA conference. It's cold here, but learning a lot at the conference and the energy and architecture is exhilerating.

I had dinner with my good friend Christian Sherwood who lives on the west side. We had Mexican food, asked for "hot" and got mild. Who knew that New Yorkers were wimpy when it comes to their spice.





Still waiting to hear from Troy Dunn to see if he was able to contact his literary agent.

Crossing my fingers... toes... legs... just about anything I can find. Let the book LIVE!

By the way, WHY DIDN'T ANYONE TELL ME THAT JANE AUSTIN DOESN'T GET THE GUY IN THE END!!!!! Obviously I'm still upset about the "Becoming Jane" movie. The audacity of the plot. How dare they call it a romatic comedy! I don't care how cute James McAvoy is... I feel used.