Jill Sheet's Blog

The Doll That is Eyeing Me Written by: Jill Sheets                               Recently we finally got to move into our own house. Well honestly we still have a lot to move over, but it is a start. Which brings me to this, I collect porcelain dolls. I do not know how many, I haven't counted them. To me they are pretty, I had never thought any different until now. As a matter of fact, I wanted a lot more, so what changed my mind. My daughter feels that the dolls are creepy. She came to me and said that there was a doll in our bedroom, in the middle of the room. I laughed it off, until I did something stupid. We did not have the TV hooked up yet, in our new house, so I turned to YouTube videos. Not just the music ones, but creepy ones. Ones I had no business watching, I can see that now, but not at the time. It was something to watch. To keep my mind busy. I have had night terrors about demons f...

Hospital Adventures                                                    Written by: Jill Sheets    Having to be admitted into the hospital is not fun for anyone, but looking back I have tried to find some funny or something to take away from my experience. To start most of my roomies would not use their button to call the nurse, so I ended up doing it for them. So here we go, lets bring on the fun.     The first adventure they brought in this lady in the middle of the night. Lucky me, I had an open bed in my room I have no idea what was wrong with her, but she kept trying to take out her IV and other tubes that were hooked to her. The nurse told her not to pull it out or it would be messy. You...

                                                Where is My Voice?                                                 Written by Jill Sheets It has been over 30 days total without a voice, which of course means I can not sing or talk. Two things that I love to do. I need to make it clear that it does not mean those days are in a row, but most of them have been in chunks. Long ones. When I do get my voice back it will crack out, so this is where I am at, no voice. Having a lot that I want to say, but cannot and I am tired o...

 Guest Writer Barbara Barth Talks About  Self-Publishing          I was very naïve when I wrote The Unfaithful Widow , the memoir of my first year after I lost my husband, I just knew I wanted to get my story out there in the world. I had no idea about publishing a book. I Googled the word publishing and was overwhelmed with articles and websites. Trying to find an agent seemed too time-consuming. I wasn’t getting any younger. My husband died in 2008 right before I turned sixty. Two years later I had my finished memoir and to my horror, was almost sixty-two. I had to release my story to move forward with my life.   I said a little prayer asking for help.      I found a vanity press, which I thought was self-publishing. I paid big bucks to have my book designed and published. I just thought self-publishing meant you didn’t go the traditional route. I didn’t know the word vanity press until an author correct...

Miracles Written by:   Jill Sheets, God, and the Bible   We know God does miracles all the time. Not just before we were born, but ones after we were born and while we are here on earth. You believe in miracles, don’t you?  Recently, I was horrified to hear someone say they did not believe in miracles. It was bad enough that this person said that when one of their children were sick. I was shocked. I did not know what to say. The only thing I kept thinking was, “ will I do .” I had faith that God would heal this person. He performs miracles daily, so why not now. If you go to church, Sunday school, bible study or if you read the bible, you more than likely recognize these miracles. There are a lot more in the bible, but these are some. I will try to keep these short. Let’s start with Jesus turning water into wine at a wedding that took place in Cana, which is in Galilee (John 2:1-11). At this wedding, the wine ran out. Mary told Jesus what w...

God Give Me Strength Written by:   Jill Sheets God give me strength to make it out of bed.  To move on with the day. God give me Strength To tell you w hat I feel. What I really want to say --- not just what I think you want to hear. God give me Strength To handle what you feel is right Even though I am not happy about it And I can be upset with you and you will still love me. God give me the strength to change what I can and realize it is not my fault if I cannot change it-- the way I want. And give me the strength to deal with Other people's opinions on certain subjects that I do not agree with -- or they do not understand. God Give me Strength for everything for today -- tomorrow-- or the future. God Give me Strength Picture From: https://pixabay.com/vectors/worried-bored-sad-girl-woman-2310879/

What Would You Do? By: Jill Sheets You would be surprised what can come across my mind when I am not thinking.   How is that possible not to think?   Trust me.   It can be done, and I have learned to do it quite well. I was sitting at work looking for pictures for an event that was coming up when this popped in my blank mind. What is it better to do?   When donating gifts or items that are needed, is it better to give one person a more expensive item or give less costly things to more people?    For example, you have 100 kids that need shoes.   Do you buy one or two of the best shoes you can find or do you buy cheaper ones so that you can provide more? But then you would have to worry about the possibility of the shoes breaking in less than a week.   I know.   Not an easy question. You would have to wonder what I was doing to think about this and why? I still have no idea why the topic came up.   I found myself...

Guest Blog Mari L. McCarthy Why Do I Still Get Writer’s Block? 3 Strategies for Overcoming It No matter how experienced or confident you are as a writer, you will still have days where the right words stubbornly refuse to come to you. Writer’s block is never welcome, but it often seems to rear its ugly head at the most inconvenient times, like when you are up against an important deadline. What causes writer’s block? All writers have their own unique and tumultuous relationship with it, but these are a few common themes: ·   Fear: You’re plagued by self-doubt. You worry that everything you write will be terrible and no one will like it. This fear may take the form of procrastination or self-criticism.   ·   Distractions: You’re fighting external or internal interruptions (or a combination of both) that are obstacles to your writing. ·   Lack of clarity: You’re not sure where your writing is going. You’ve lost your way or you don’t qu...

Bunnies Holding Grudges Written by: Jill Sheets Bruce and Thor Slowly looking around the living room as I write, I make sure that the bunnies behind me are not looking over my shoulder to see what I am writing, and if it is about them.   The two smartest ones look at me when I make eye contact with them. I quickly turn back around, pretending that I am watching TV. I do not want to tick them off, especially because I am on their good side. Which brings me to the question, can bunnies hold grudges? A lot of you may be thinking, “No, they can’t hold a grudge.” Maybe not in your house, but in my house they can, and they can hold one for a very… very… long time.   One child (Thor) holding a grudge against his dad (Bruce). It all started when Bruce decided to take a chunk out of Thor. He pulled off fur and even some skin.   My daughter found Thor and brought him to us.   The only animal hospital that was open did not take “Pocket Pets.”   That w...

You Are Not Alone Written by: Jill Sheets *****Picture was take my Senior year, by my mom***** My ex’s name has been changed. I met Saul when I was 16, through a friend of mine. Her boyfriend was his friend. The first time I met him was when my friend and her boyfriend came into where I was working and helped me clean up the food court. It did not take long before Saul and I were dating, and he started driving me home from school or to work. One day he gave me an engagement ring and asked me to marry him. I was still 16, which did not bother me — our plans where to get married after I graduated from High School. I always wanted a large family, so when I was asked to marry him, I said “yes.” Now looking back at it I should have said “no,” and ran. All I could think about having a family and my career. I figured starting early would help with achieving all of it. I knew he was older, but I never knew how much older he was. Even today, I still do not know the a...

Memories of Meg Written by:   Jill Sheets                        Picture Credit: Jeff Wheeler      I love making posters for the station.   There was one that I had to correct because it was out of date.   I took the old one down and started to put the new one up. I let out a small laugh as I remember how I use to drive Meg, a co-worker, and friend, crazy because I never taped them up straight.   No matter how hard I tried.   I just concluded that more people would notice it if it were not straight.      This was not the first memory of Meg that I had today.   I was recording this interview with an actress and asked the question was what advice you would give to teenage girls these days. It was a simple answer that it hit home and reminded me of what Meg would tell me.   It is okay to say "no," and that she wished she knew that as a tee...

" The Writing Process from a Spark to a Novel" Michelle Dim-St. Pierre Great authors always make experiencing a story believable. You can taste the character’s food, see the places they visit—you can feel the wind in your hair and smell the ocean breeze, almost as if you were actually there. The final product might make it seems as though the story flowed effortlessly from the writer’s pen, but this is far from the writer’s reality. A writer has to choose the words to bring those experiences to life. Sometimes this is a matter of the writer using their imagination intensely to create the details that will create a reality out of fiction. Other times, this requires a great deal of research. In the end, the writer must determine what stories to share to bring a reader into their own reality. In some ways it’s a process of becoming who your character is meant to be. And in some ways, it’s about having enough background to be authentic in what you writ...