Song Writing

I was inspired yesterday to compose "Gypsy Fair" for the Early Elementary Level pianist. It's in C minor. (I love minors, weird me.) Today, while the boys were napping and it was snowing-storming like no one's business, I also composed "Hop Frog Pond!" (for the Intermediate Level pianist). Everyone at the house really loved the first one, so I imagine "Hop Frog Pond" will be hard to compete for affection, but I think it's an official start to writing my own Children's Piano Literature Book for beginners. Or, at least I have two cute ones. Let me know what you think. Oh, and if you are wondering why I am being more random than usual on my knitting blog with this video...I'm a mother by day and piano teacher by evening. This could be a start of something big (or at least something cool) if I keep at it. :)

P.S- it's all computerized instrumental voicing. Nothing live, or fancy...I literally just finished writing it! Double :)

Become a Character!

"Become A Character In Better Off Dead!

Become a Character in H.P Mallory's Better Off Dead, the first book in the Lily Harper Series!

Here are the contest parameters:

Enter to be written as a character in my book, Better Off Dead. I'll create your character using your name, description and personality (I'll send over a questionnaire, etc. to find out all about you!)

The winner will get:

* A written part in Better Off Dead
* The ability to read Better Off Dead before it's released to the public
* Added to the Acknowledgments page

 To enter, you can simply comment on this blog post. To get more entries, you can do the following:

* Leave a comment on this blog post (+ 1 point)
* Follow my blog (+ 1 point)
* Follow me on Twitter (+ 1 point) (Link: https://twitter.com/HPMallory)
* Tweet about the contest (+ 1 point)
* Friend me on Facebook (+ 1 point) (Link: www.facebook.com/hpmalloryauthor)
* Like me on Facebook (+ 1 point) (Link: https://www.facebook.com/hpmallory?ref=hl)
* Mention the contest on Facebook (+ 1 point)
* Mention the contest on your blog (+ 1 point)
* Add Better Off Dead to your list of Goodreads books (+1 point) (Link: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15962381-better-off-dead)

 Do all of the above and you'll get even more chances to win with a total of 9 possible points. Just mention in your blog comment how many points you earned (and how you earned those points). And please also remember to include your full name so I'm able to reach you if you are the winner! A sample comment could look like this:

Hey, HP, enter me (Jane Doe) in your ninth awesomest contest ever! I have a total of 3 points for commenting on your blog, friending you on facebook, and tweeting about your contest!

This contest is open until February 28th with the winner announced on March 1st!

Contest Rules:

* Total your points in the comments field of this blog and tell me how you earned your points.
* The winner will be drawn at random (the more points you have, the more entries you'll get)

Good luck!!!!

HP"

New Routine

Hey All,
I'm just checking in to show you a few things that are going on at the moment: fitness/wellness and reading. Oh yeah, we just "derailed" one side of the boys' cribs and are transitioning to their "Big Boy Beds." It's a pretty tough transition, not to mention throwing "twins" into the equation. The nighttime has been pretty successful (there was playing around for a long while, of course) but the daytime nap is the tricky one. Just to show you how crazy courageous I am, I did this with my husband out of town for the week!  *sigh* I know, nothing knitty to show you (the real reason why you came). Any spare bit of time I have had has been so focused on preparing lighter meals (and documenting recipes to share with you all), excercising despite my physical or mental fatigue, and reading a really good series called "Dulcie O'Neil" by H.P Mallory (the Jolie Wilkins series was amazing as well) on my Kindle while exercising or in a vegetative state on the couch. And now that we are in the transitioning phase with the boys, my spare time amounts to maybe an hour a night. And that's with me going to bed very late! I can't knit during the day because the boys see fit to attack me and/or pull on the yarn or run away with the skein, etc.

Jolie Wilkins Series

If you haven't discovered these really inexpensive yet amazing paranormal romances, look them up! The first ones in the series are FREE and will hook you. The rest of the books are only $3.99 and are just as great! This author was self-published and used online services like Kindle to jump-start her career...and was so darn successful right off the bat that now they publish and sell her books in stores. I think her books are close to numero-uno on most bought kindle books. She's quite an inspiration to us amateurs that would love to write mysteries or romances, or...erm...knitting books and get "found." It's also cool to see other online places that give you the option to "self-publish" your book in hardcover for next to nothing (maybe four bucks), if you simply don't want to wait forever for the "big guy" to accept you. I wish I could remember the name of that site!

Here's some lighter meals that your family will love (from yours truly) with veggies, veggies and more veggies!:

Gourmet-looking Cucumber Snack Poppers

Three Little Bears Finger Sandwiches

Eat Your Veggies Omlette

Dinosour Finger Sandwiches

Beef Stew

Southwestern Breakfast Burrito

You can get all of those recipes at: The Adventures of Raising Twins (blog)!

My scale is out of batteries, and I've been too lazy to get a screwdriver and check what it needs to change it out, but I should be at around 6-7 pounds down since Dec. 28th! Just a zillion left to go. Just kidding. It feels that way though.