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 Life, Adventure, Family, Writing what else is there? Random thoughts. |
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WELCOME TO: GEMINI RISING   UPDATED INTRO 30 JUNE 2025: Just a little about me. I've been married for 33 years this past NOV and currently live in Southern California, but I grew up in New Hampshire. I've got 2 boys who are young adults. I work as a 911 dispatcher for LAPD. I enjoy my job a lot. Still. If you can believe that. I love to write. Thankfully both of my boys achieved Eagle Scout. My Scouting days are over and I'm back to focusing on my writing. I like to get out in nature, drink coffee and watch football. Here's a little bio about my zodiac. GEMINI: Gemini, the sign of the Twins, is dual-natured, elusive, complex and contradictory. On the one hand it produces the virtue of versatility, and on the other the vices of two-facedness and flightiness. The sign is linked with Mercury, the planet of childhood and youth, and its subjects tend to have the graces and faults of the young. When they are good, they are very attractive; when they are bad they are more the worse for being the charmers they are. Like children they are lively, and happy, if circumstances are right for them, or egocentric, imaginative and restless. Their good qualities are attractive and come easily to them. They are affectionate, courteous, kind, generous, and thoughtful towards the poor and suffering - provided none of the activities resulting from expressing these traits interferes too greatly with their own lives and comforts. Geminians can be successful in many walks of life though their general characteristics tend to make them unreliable. They are often skilled manipulators of language, in speech and writing, and may be: debaters, diplomats (though in politics they are more interested in theory than practice), orators, preachers (brilliant rather than profound), teachers, authors, poets, journalists, or lawyers. BLOG ACCOMPLISHMENTS: SEPTEMBER 2025:
SEPTEMBER 2025:
Merit Badges collected and earned from "Earn the Badge 2025" ![Merit Badge in WdC Supportive Friend
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Thank you for participating in [Link To Item #2133333] . Congratulations on completing the September
2nd Daily Task.](https://images.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/badges/community-WdC_Supportive_Friend.gif) ![Merit Badge in Earn the Badge
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Thank you for your donation to [Link To Item #2133333] - from Purple Princess.](https://images.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/badges/group-Earn_the_Badge-2093257_1.gif){kind=icon} ![Merit Badge in Music
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Thank you for participating in [Link To Item #2133333] . Congratulations on completing the September
3rd Daily Task.](https://images.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/badges/genre-Music-1050.gif) ![Merit Badge in Contests
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Thank you for participating in [Link To Item #2133333] . Congratulations on completing the September 1st daily task.](https://images.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/badges/genre-Contests-235.gif) SUMMER 2025:
Merit Badges Collected from Virtual Blogging &Virtual Blogging Friends: ![Merit Badge in Let Dreams Take Wing
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To my upcoming virtual traveling blog companion. Dream big and fly high!](https://images.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/badges/group-Let_Dreams_Take_Wing-2335469_1.gif) ![Merit Badge in Normal Is Boring
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here's to another week of creating adventures!](https://images.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/badges/Kudos-Normal_Is_Boring.gif) ![Merit Badge in Blog Camping
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Thanks for completing [Link To User elusive4lyn] July 2025 blogging vacation!! Great job!!](https://images.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/badges/group-Blog_Camping-1788309_13.gif) ![Merit Badge in Travel
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Woohoo! We’re halfway through!](https://images.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/badges/genre-Travel-1975.gif) ![Merit Badge in BCoF 2
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Thank you for your participation in BCoF's 50 States Virtual Blogging adventure.
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51 days of blogging takes commitment, and you rocked it.
*^*Heart*^* Lyn](https://images.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/badges/general-Endurance.gif) SEPTEMBER 2024: I participated in the
![Merit Badge in Nonfiction
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Congrats on your Honorable Mention in Blog Week Birthday Bastion 2024](https://images.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/badges/type-Nonfiction.gif) Big thanks to WakeUpAndLive   for hosting the contest! OCTOBER 2024: I participated in the
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Congratulations on completing the 13 Poetic Days of Halloween.](https://images.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/badges/group-Halloween-2026567.gif) Big Thanks to Witchy Woman  for hosting the contest!Find me at: WEBSITE: http://www.stephanieburkhart.com FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/StephanieBurkhartAuthor GOOD READS: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4031660.Stephanie_Burkhart YOU TUBE CHANNEL: http://www.youtube.com/user/botrina?feature=mhee  WARNING I intend to be open, honest, and forthright. No topic is off limits from religion to you name it, I'm going there. If you think you might be offended...back up now - this blog isn't for you. For those who "dare"  check out the "Gemini Rising..." 
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Day 4 for Earn the Badge - Growth
TASK: We all started somewhere. What's one of the first things you posted to your portfolio? How did you feel about it then? What would you change now or do differently? Is it hidden in your port? Showcase this gem on the newsfeed. This is one of the earliest items I put in my portfolio. It's diamante poem. I kinda dressed it up and made it pretty today, after digging it out of closet and getting rid of the mothballs. I gave it a picture and centered it, increased the font using WDC ML, so those were my changes. The words didn't change.
It was published in May 2005, when I was wee black case here on WDC. Back then, I was learning and experimenting with different styles of poems and poetry and this was my first diamante poem. I don't think I would change anything as I think the words used do a good job capturing the feelings the poem evokes. It is a bit on the "darker" side. For being one of my oldest items it only has 18 ratings and 4 stars. This item is not hidden in my port. |
This is an entry for Day 4
TASK: Write a flash fiction story about a scavenger hunt gone wrong in 300 words or less. Witchy Woman The 2 A.M. Follies Word Count: 299 It was Krush’s last day at work and part of the Retirement celebrations was to find little rubber duckies which had been strategically placed all throughout the dispatch center. Val had set up the duckie hunt. She passed out clue papers to everyone, but somehow her coffee list had gotten mixed up in the clues and Krush got that list. The first item on Krush’s list said empty coffee pot. That looked easy. She went down to the coffee supply area and emptied out a warm pot of coffee. She spied a yellow duckie on top of the microwave. Amanda came in and picked it up. Next item said tea bags. Easy. Vee came in fussed that the coffee was gone – and she desperately needed a cup at two a.m. Krush picked up a stir stick, a sugar packet, and vanilla creamer in short order. At 5 a.m. she reported to Val with all the things on the list. Imagine Krush’s shock when everyone but her turned in rubber duckies and she proudly displayed her stolen coffee supplies. “You were supposed to find Duckies,” said Val. Krush produced her coffee list. “I got this.” Val turned red. “I was wondering where my coffee supply list went.” Vee frowned. “I complained all night that there was no coffee!” Lilly glared at the creamer. “I was a zombie without it.” Navon crossed her arms. “I had to make a new pot there were so many complaints.” Krush felt bad. Val dug into her backpack of goodies, passed out $5.00 scratchers to everyone. Krush won $500.00 on her scratcher and Vee hauled in $250.00 for her inconvenience. Navon declared from now on she was in charge of all the future office scavenger hunts, and Krush walked out of the building happily retired. |
My entry is for Task #3 in:
The Task: Do you listen to music when you write? Do any groups/singers/songs inspire you to write? Share a YouTube video of your latest favorite song or artist. What is it about this song that speaks to you? For me, I think earlier in my writing, listening to songs did help to inspire me. I created a whole mixed CD for My novel, "Twilight Over Moldavia" which included songs like "Astronomy" from Blue Oyster Cult and "Night Ride Across the Caucasus" by Loreena McKinnett. In my more recent writing, I haven't relied so much on musical influences to set a tone or mood for the writing. Also, to answer another question, I generally don't listen to music while I write, as I'm more focused on listening to the characters in my head speak. Going back to Twilight Over Moldavia, it is Book 2 in my Moldavian moon, but it's not been re-released yet. It was published by Desert Breeze Publishing in the teens, but when the publisher went out of business, I got my rights back. Re-publishing my work as a self-publisher has been time consuming and I've been concentrating on my smaller work by Victory Tales Press first. This will be the cover to Twilight Over Moldavia when it is re-published:  As for Loreena McKinnett's song I can't seem to find an official version. But she has published the song on YouTube on her account. Here is a version I did find that intrigued me: Here is a video trailer I made of Twilight of Moldavia when it was initially released. |
This is an entry for Day 3
THE TASK: We have ten or more members who joined WDC during the years of 2002 and 2004. Pick any five and review something from their portfolio. Post your review numbers of the five in your blog entry and tell us what drew you to that work. (Remember a paragraph not one sentence) Just think this week reviews earn more gps. My Notes: I can honestly say finding WDC members from 2002-2004 were a lot easier to find this time around since I learned the "Authors" tricks. Thank goodness. Overall, I picked the ports because there's something about these authors/community members writing and expression that I enjoyed. Also, the items I choose to review (because there's A LOT in their Ports!) were mainly based on their titles. There was something about the title of that work that drew me in. Onto the reviews... My reviews:
Review of "Treasure"  The Title was Treasure and I knew treasure could be anything. I clicked on the item and immediately I liked the way it was presented, in a neat, orderly fashion and the WDC ML made it easy to read. The first couple of lines had me hooked - there's more to an action/adventure treasure maps and chests. This poem was about emotional treasure and I enjoyed reading it.
Review of "Rinse, repeat" The title here is "Rinse, Repeat," and it piqued my curiosity. Certaintly, this couldn't be about laundry, could it? Thankfully, no. It's about sticking to what we're used too, because in a way, we're bored and don't know any better. I liked the use of the video to establish a rhythmic beat for the poem as it was written. It was very catchy and engaging.
Review of "The Beatles, Abba Music Journal, Stories" The title had me right away. This is a blog and I'm always game to check out a blog. This blog was about musical influences with a focus on the Beatles and Abba. It was very entertaining, and engaging. The writing was concise and this blog just brought back good memories.
Review of "Waves" Again, the title intrigued me, especially when I opened the item up and discovered 8 lines of poetry/prose. The poet had a lot to pack into those eight lines so when I read them, I was blown away. There's a lot of raw, heartfelt and honest expression in those eight lines. Very poignant and moving.
Review of "Comma: Punctuation That Works Overtime" I think the thing that I liked about this item was just how succinct it was. We all struggle with commas. Who doesn't? It was compact and gave good examples of comma usage and it was just enough that it would hold a reader's attention span (considering our spans are rather short these) and pique enough curiosity that one might explore more. |
This entry is for Task # in:
The Task is: Which of your WDC friends deserves some recognition? How have they supported you over your time here? Post about it in the newsfeed, your notebook, or a blog. Without any hesitation, for me, it's WW is Monk WDC's 25! CopShop  One of the BIG ways she supported me was with the Bard's Hall. As the boys got older and needed a parent to take them places, my time on WDC grew limited and Webbie picked up a lot of the slack over there. She's a BIG reason why
Webbie has taught me a lot of stuff (and there's stuff I'm learning if you can believe that - thanks to Witchy Woman !! ) Webbie's a big support for my other forums and she's always upbeat and fun. Whenever I need a friendly ear, or I need to vent, Webbie is there for me. From me to you (((hugs))) Webbie! Now go play Angel-Witch BINGO! 
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This entry is for Day 2
Tagging Witchy Woman There are multiple contests celebrating WDC's 25th year. Name at least five of them and participate in one of them.
Well, heck, I'm participating in all of them! Post your answers in a blog entry telling us what motivated you to do that contest. ( * no one sentence responses allowed) Do you like doing contests in general. What's your favorite one during the year? Gosh, for
For the Writer's Cramp I entered because I thought the prompt was interesting and the story just came to me. I  Angel-Witch Bingo. Wouldn't miss it for the world. Webbie runs a good BINGO game!I enjoy Anniversary Reviews so I just had to get on board and test my stamina when comes to reviewing. The format is a little different for this month, so I'm doing my best to switch my reviews to accommodate. I really like Habit Heroes and I'm wicked pleased with my progress with my steps and my writing. "Earn the Badge" is a lot of fun and I like how the daily tasks kind of switch things from the same ol' same ol'. I wish I could support more, but I'm kinda tapped out and I want to try to keep up with my favorites. Do I like doing contests? I don't mind. Depends on the contests. I do like the writing contests, but they can be challenging since time is not my friend. I need to be able to write short pieces that blogging and cramps and Daily Flash Fiction afford. I also like doing contests were I earn things so that's why I like Angel-Witch Bingo and "Earn the Badge." What's my favorite contest in the year? Gosh, that's a tough one. I always like to do Dear Me, just to frame my goals, but none of the judges score my "writing jungle" high enough.  I try to do a 1 or 2 official contests throughout the year, depending on the prompt because I like to support. I always try to do any BINGO that WW is Monk WDC's 25!
CopShop has because BINGO is fun. I always try to support Raffles because I think they're fun. I do enjoy Habit Heroes. When it comes to hosting contests, I love the Cupid Slam on the Bard's. I also like the Bard's blogging challenge and the Cop Shop Mysteries. |
This entry is for Day 1
Tagging: Witchy Woman The requirement was:There are 5 WDC Moderators/ blue and purple cases who joined WDC in 2000 and 2001. Your challenge is to write about each one in your blog entry. Yup 5 Moderators= 5 paragraphs of at least 2 sentences each. (10 lines minimum) Should be easy check their portfolios. Find a hit song from 2000 or 2001 that you think --- one of these blue cases might like and tell us why. It doesn't matter which one of the 5 moderators you choose. Don't forget to link the song. Let me be honest - this was hard for me. I went into full investigator mode and it took hours to find the moderators I did find! I was able to find 5 moderators and senior moderators. Some mods I thought would surely fit the bill came in at 2002! It was an interesting hunt and now... ♥tHiNg♥  tHing or hOOves is the moderator I know the best in the group. I love her quirky port and well written stories. tHing is always respectful and nice and always tells a good tale. If I need a "go to" port, tHing is high on the list! She's very active and it's always good to see her around supporting the community. Joy-Happy 25, WdC!  I'd like to think I know Joy a little bit, too. I had the pleasure of checking out her port last year for anniversary reviews and I enjoyed her Poetry and Activities folder. Joy was very sweet to me when I was first a moderator working on the Drama newsletter back and in the day and I really, really, really appreciate her reading my stories and giving them a review on Amazon. That meant a lot. If Joy ever needed a favor, I'm there for her. Kenzie  I popped into Kenzie's port and saw a couple of things I'd like to explore. One is the Pets and Animals folder. Our pets are our "babies" and while I'm more of a cat fan, I know our dog brings my husband a lot of happiness. The recipes and crafts folder looks pretty interesting too, so I'm looking forward to checking out her port for anniversary reviews. Her bio is pretty straightforward and kudos to writing with fibromalyga. (sp?) I can't imagine that's easy. Cappucine  This bio is simple. Our moderator likes to wear boots! Upon poking around her port, I discovered a poetry that I would like to explore. Mixed metaphors also looks like a very interesting folder that I would explore. ElaineElaine  On her port bio, there's a link to what this moderator likes - science fiction and fantasy. There's also a poetry folder that looks intriguing. This moderator also has edited the Short Stories NL which is one that I'm subscribed to! Soooo.... after checking out everyone's port it's time to pick a pick a moderator and a song and I choose "Smooth" by Santana for Cappucine ! Why? For me, "Smooth" just has a simmering, smouldering vibe, and when you pop into Cappucine's port - that's what I experienced, a simmering, smouldering vibe. Enjoy the song! |
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