* Blueprint Magazine. While I am snobbish in attempting to avoid trendy items (see how the snobbery actually backfires here?), and while I tend to dislike Martha Stewart the Woman and therefore would rather not passionately adore her products, I find myself enamored by this magazine. They had me at hello.

* McDonald’s Iced Coffee. I reserve this drink for special moments, specifically times when I am blissfully alone in the car, driving around town in silence. It is my special treat to be savored slowly.

* New-to-me websites where I can continue to surf links to my heart’s content.

* The sheer act of writing. Stephen King wrote something in his book,On Writing, about how, if someone loves to write, why on earth would they do anything else? I planned on submitting an article for publication by the end of Summer 2006 but my plans were waylaid a bit and I found myself in the cold months of 2007, wondering if there was a way for me to make some cashola from home. God provided, good people contacted me, and now I am working from the Prairie Box as a freelance writer. Really, it’s a dream come true. Words bounce around my mind, throwing themselves into unusual phrases and sometimes full sentences and paragraphs, throughout the day. Sometimes they make it to the light of day, or rather the innards of some Word file, but most of the time they play in my head and remind me of how much I love to write. Before I go setting myself up for massive failure in the minds of blog readers, let me tell you about the head of our statewide arboretum whose wife thinks they could do much more with their home garden, or the web developer who hasn’t updated his family’s website in a few years. Catch my drift? My writing here tends to be quick, breezy and sometimes non-existent. So don’t hold your breath for second, third or fourth draft quality. Ain’t gonna happen. Nonetheless, I am thrilled to be writing for pay — and I’m looking forward to seeing what I can do with the gifts God has apportioned me.