Elvis the king.

My sister and I wrote this story back and forth over e-mail together last month and had so much fun doing it! Priya suggested I share it here, and I'm glad she did...here it is. :)

Each person's words are in a different color -- guess who wrote which part! (Forgive the red and green...I clearly have Christmas on the brain.)

"Why, yes," said the dog, smiling. It took a bite out of its banana and threw the rest at the king's feet. "Would you like to share some with me?"

"'Fraid not," the king replied solemnly. "Bananas give me the wiggles."

"That's too bad," the dog mewed. "Bananas are the most delicious. I eat them day and night, and I never get wiggles."

"But scones give you the wiggles," reminded the king.

"Sir, I've a-just met you!" exclaimed the dog. "Scones might give other dogs the wiggles, but I'm a pretty special dog."

"Really," said the king skeptically. "Well, all the other dogs I've seen have gotten wiggles when they eat scones."

"How many dogs have you fed scones to?!" cried out the dog in shock and horror. Scones were NOT GOOD for a dog's digestive system! (He'd had to learn that lesson first-hand.)

"All of them," replied the king calmly.

"Dog-killer!" yelled the dog. His shout echoed throughout the land.

"OMG," muttered the king sarcastically. He tore off his kingly attire to reveal a glittery gold pantsuit. He took off his wig and crown and revealed slicked-back hair.

He was...

Elvis.

"You ain't nothing but a hound dog!" he sang.

"I'm not a hound dog!" the dog retorted, severely offended. "I hope you know that."

"All dogs are hound dogs in my world!" Elvis said.

Happy Thanksgiving!

It has been really snowy and cold out here, which is fabulous for all us students because we got a six-day weekend out of it! It is absolutely gorgeous!

To celebrate the snow and holidays, I've added a new layout -- complete with header and snow. A special thank-you to Priya for helping me out with the header!

Stay safe and have a happy happy Thanksgiving weekend! 

Burnt yellow

In mid-October, Priya and I went out for a little walk to capture the fall foliage:

priya.

and a couple of other shots from that day...

 

Happy Halloween!

Wishing you a safe and happy Halloween! Have fun!

Watch my TEDxRedmond speech!

My TEDxRedmond speech is up! I was really happy with the way it turned out...hopefully you'll enjoy it too! Click HERE to watch it.

TEDxRedmond Photos + Videos!

I was really proud to be a part of the TEDxRedmond event a month ago, and it was a huge success. Now, photos and videos are being released from the event!

You can find pictures from the event here, on Flickr! Photos may continue to be added later on. If you weren't at the event or couldn't watch it on the online stream (the servers crashed but were up and running later on), the videos of the speeches and performances from the event are gradually being added to the TEDxRedmond website and the TEDxTalks Youtube page. You can click here to watch the videos that have been uploaded -- more will continue to come later! Priya's speech is already up, and I'm so proud of her! She did a wonderful job, and I hope you all will enjoy it as much as I did!

Be sure to check the photos and videos out!

[refill necessary]

My mother always tells me to use the forks, not the spoons, when stirring milk. We are not always running out of forks like we are with spoons, she says.

I sometimes run out of words. But I didn't tell her.

[p.s. A really great friend, Beth Kephart, recently sold her 13th novel! Stop by her blog to congratulate her, won't you?]