Tag: Bret Nicholaus

30 Day Blog Challenge:Day 30

Whew! I am finished with this 30 day challenge; this was a nice little journey I took and I hope you’ve enjoyed reading my posts. I had to look hard through my copy of THE MOM AND DAD CONVERSATION PIECE  by Bret Nicholaus and Paul Lowrie, in order to find my last question. So without much further ado, I bid you adieu on this challenge!

Day 30 Question 30:When you were a very young child, what did you want to be when you grew up? When you were in high school, what did you think you would be doing for a living someday?

Answer: From the time I learned about words, I gravitated towards writing when I first began  school. I also loved to draw so I was never without paper and pencil. My favorite subject in school was always the language arts; I quickly fell in love with reading and I read everything I put my hands on. Back then my favorite TV show was THE LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE. So I  wrote a story based on the characters, and I set them in present time. All through middle school and high school I wrote all the time. In the 10th grade, a friend of mine had a big crush on this guy and she loved my poetry. She had me write her crush several poems which she gave to him. Writing was my friend because I was a pretty lonely kid and I trusted my journal to keep all of my secrets. I could envision myself being a writer when I was very young.

In high school I discovered the seamstress in me. When I was younger and my Abuelita lived with us, I would never tire of watching her sew.  When I found out I could take Fashion Design , I was in! I loved making a new outfit and getting compliments on it at school. One time I made a dress for my aunt which she actually wore often; I realized that was her way of showing me she approved my work. I also made a couple of outfits and I was able to model them myself in the yearly Fashion Show. That fueled my desire to stick to fashion and pretty soon, I pictured my self owning my own designer boutique.

I went to college to learn fashion design. Once in the program though, I saw it was more of a challenge than I had previously imagined. Some of that passion I’d felt for fashion before began to wane. Then in my last year of college I enrolled in a fashion journalism course and I fell in love with writing all over again. I knew then for sure, that writing and I would never part ways again.

When I self published my first book,  a couple of years ago, I knew I would always pursue this dream of mine to the end of my days. This year I submitted my 2nd manuscript to a major publisher and it was accepted right away. Mind you, I had plans to self publish again, but thanks to my 2nd daughter who kept telling me to submit it, I’m so glad I did! You see, I was terrified of the possibility of receiving a letter of rejection and my daughter would say,” So? If you do, keep trying .”

I am thrilled to announce that my second book, a volume of poems, short stories and prose will be published next  year! I look forward to sharing it with you! I ‘ll leave you with a quote from yours truly: ” I’m gonna keep writing ’til they have to pry my pen from my cold hand!” – Eva

30 Day Blog Challenge: Day 3

I was inspired this morning to start a 30 day Blog Challenge. The questions are from an interesting little book I picked up a while ago at a thrift store. THE MOM & DAD QUESTION, CREATIVE QUESTIONS to HONOR the FAMILY by Bret Nicholaus and Paul Lowrie. I will post one question per day and I will give you an answer that came from times of our discussing this little book at our family‘s dinner table. I look forward to my reader’s responses, so YES by all means leave me YOUR answers in the comments section of this blog. Since The Holidays are coming up, maybe you can pick up your own copy of this book and bring it to your own family’s holiday celebrations :)

Day 3 Question # 3: Is there anyone you know of in your family’s history who had an encounter with or knew someone famous?

Answer: Here is an excerpt from my book   AS CLEAR AS CLAIRE GETS, A CONVERSATION with the PAST that tells of how my mama met the president of Colombia.

When Fidel was 8 years old, papa and mama only had 2 children at the time. Mama studied to become a legal secretary and after she met papa, he told her that he didn’t want her to work outside the home.Mama went against his wishes and she began to prepare herself studying at home in secret. Not too long after that she heard that the president of Colombia,  Carlos Lleras Restrepo was going to make a public appearance at a rally in one of the towns surrounding Medellin. So she took my 2 brothers, Fidel and Alejandro with her because she wanted to speak to the president.

Once they arrived at the hall where they scheduled to hold the rally, the crowd was growing by the minute because everyone was anticipating the president’s arrival. once President Lleras Restrepo arrived, the military saluted him by playing Colombia’s national anthem and the whole place charged up with excitement as shouts went out in honor of the president. Mama stood at the front of the auditorium and she and my brothers waited for him to come close. Then she walked up to him as he stood directly in front of Mama and my brothers. Then she said in a dignified and respectful tone,

“Mr. president, I need to speak with you sir.” Suddenly she was rudely interrupted by a security guard who barked at her,

” Lady, you are too close. Please step back.” Mama was undaunted by his intimidating manner and she pressed on.

” Mr. president, sir, if you could give me a few minutes of your time… I must speak to you.” Again, she was pushed back and threatened by the same security guard. All of a sudden, the president intervened and spoke to my mama, saying to her in a warm and friendly tone,

” Yes ma’am  and what may I help you with at this moment?” Mama must have been thrilled at his acknowledgement but she kept on in her professional manner, never forgetting whom she was standing before,

“Well sir, I’d like to meet in private with you for a few minutes if that’s all right with you.” The president stopped to think for a minute; then he nodded as he reached into the pocket of his coat and retrieved his business card. He turned it over and wrote down some words as he told mama,

” Ma’am, I look forward to meeting with you this afternoon at three at The Hotel Nutibara, which is where I’m staying.”

That afternoon my Mama showed up at three for her interview with President Lleras Restrepo. After their brief meeting, he recommended Mama to Governor Octavio Arizmendi Posada who was the governor of the state of Antioquia. After a few days of enduring challenging exams, Mama landed a job working as an executive secretary of the treasury in the governor’s office in the state of Antioquia.

The flag that is used by the President of Colo...
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30 Day Blog Challenge: Day 2

I was inspired this morning to start a 30 day Blog Challenge. The questions are from an interesting little book I picked up a while ago at a thrift store. THE MOM & DAD QUESTION, CREATIVE QUESTIONS to HONOR the FAMILY by Bret Nicholaus and Paul Lowrie. I will post one question per day and I will give you an answer that came from times of our discussing this little book at our family‘s dinner table. I look forward to my reader’s responses, so YES by all means leave me YOUR answers in the comments section of this blog. Since The Holidays are coming up, maybe you can pick up your own copy of this book and bring it to your own family’s holiday celebrations :)

Day 2 Question #2: When you were growing up, what was dinner time like at your house? What was a typical meal? 

Answer: This answer is from my husband. ” Mom always had bread at the table along with meat, veggies and mashed potatoes. Mom always said that a birdie had told on one of us whenever she suspected that we were misbehaving or acting up. Since my mom owned a beauty shop, the conversation always centered around the gossip she had heard that day at work.”