I'm sleepwalking again. 

At 1:13a this morning I found myself about to wake the girls to head out the door for Take Your Kids to Work day with their father, who was blissfully unaware of my wandering feet. I couldn't figure out why Bryan wouldn't get the heck out of bed AND WHERE IS THE COFFEE and I like salamanders. After the salamander thought flit through my head, I realized something was up and went back to bed. I found myself wandering the house again a few hours later looking for the freaking salamanders.

I was a big sleepwalker as a kid. I'd awake in the yard with my ancient cat looking at me like I was off my nut but standing guard until I picked my way back over the bushes and through the sliding glass door to the kitchen. Now Vyo has taken up the reigns and goes on midnight walkabouts. Remember the scene in Paranormal Activity when Katie stands over the sleeping Micah for hours? Vyolette does that to me. I only peed a little when I woke up to THAT.

Were you a sleepwalker or a sleeping beauty?

Can a Ghost Follow You Home?

I love to answer questions about the paranormal at my blog Ask a Ghost Hunter. For years, I've been helping families deal with things that may not be a late-night burrito after all and get a handle on what could be happening in their houses. A few things to keep in mind, however:

• 99% of "hauntings" can be explained by boring reasons: leaky pipes, chatty neighbors whose voices float in via windows and venting pipes, critters, and scary trees that should have been chopped down long ago.
  
• Don't assume that because you think it's a ghost, everyone else needs to think it's a ghost as well. Keep an open mind but not so open that your brain falls out. Be a skeptic first, then look for floating heads.

The questions I get at AGH are mostly thought-provoking and sometimes heartbreaking and I try to keep moving the conversation forward to make a scary situation into an adventure.

The question below is one I get the most traffic on. Since answering this online, I've had more activity in my new house involving shadow people and a small girl running through the living room that wasn't my six-year-old.

Have a question for me? Email me at stacey.i.graham[at]gmail.com and we'll see what's going bump in your house.  ;)

-----------------------------------------

Hi I have a few questions to ask. If you can answer with best knowledge you can.

1. If I was on a ghost hunt in lets say an old house and I come across a spirit. Can it follow me home?

2. Has anyone that you know come across this?

3. Can A spirit be attach to a person? Not to a love one but someone that it doesn't know?


Thank You
Andrew V.


Hi Andrew,

Thanks for writing! Let's get busy:

1. If I was on a ghost hunt in lets say an old house and I come across a spirit. Can it follow me home?

I have heard of some ghosts following investigators home and I have had a few myself. I wouldn't call it common but sometimes spirits are curious as to whom is chasing them around so diligently. As for my ghost, I would see a figure on my stairs while I work at my desk, just watching...watching. Another time I returned home late from an investigation and just as I was falling asleep I heard a voice yell in my face, "HELLO!" At least they were friendly.

2. Has anyone that you know come across this?

I have found that the more sensitive the investigator, the more likely I'll hear about activity after they return from a hunt. They may simply be more aware of their surroundings, however.

3. Can A spirit be attach to a person? Not to a love one but someone that it doesn't know?

I believe that a spirit is able to do quite a bit of what it sets its mind to. Be it following someone interesting home or staying put in a familiar place, it has the ability to attach itself to anything that it feels like. This may certainly change over the years as the living die or houses razed for newer construction but I've heard of families haunted for generations.

Thank you, Andrew,

Stacey

da Vinci riding the space shuttle and other things I did on a rainy Sunday

A friend flew in to DC last weekend and I got the chance to do something I very rarely do: go to an art museum. I'll explain. Five kids and a husband whose very existence depends on free parking on the National Mall leaves my nerves a bit frayed every time we go downtown so when I had the chance to spend time with my beloved paintings and sculptures at the National Gallery of Art with someone who didn't get us thrown out (it's happened more than once) because of sticky fingers pointing a little too closely at the Monets, I was all for it.

Review: Two Scoops of Grace with Chuckles on Top

It was my pleasure to review one of my former Erma's new book, Two Scoops of Grace with Chuckles on Top by Jeanette Levellie. Her humor, good grace and ability to look at the beauty of things from caterpillars to outhouse races always made me look forward to her columns so I knew this book would be fabulous and I wasn't disappointed. Two Scoops of Grace is full of wonderful stories and thought-provoking affirmations, a welcome break from my crazy busy days with a laugh and time to catch a breath before heading back in to zombies and talent show practices.

Well done, Jeanette!

About the Book
What do drive-by diaper stores and God have in common? When is blabbing an acceptable habit? Why should you beware of moths and slugs? In her entertaining, uplifting style, award-winning author and humorist Jeanette Levellie weaves 72 amusing stories with affirming Biblical truths. These soul-nourishing examples of God’s favor and grace will help you:

• Laugh when you find cow patties in your field instead of daisies

• Discover the bottomless heart of God

• Grow in your acceptance of yourself and others

Welcome a vacation from stress as you discover the sweetness of Two Scoops of Grace with Chuckles on Top.
You can buy the book here.


About the Author
A spunky pastor’s wife of thirty-plus years, Jeanette Levellie authors a bi-weekly humor/inspirational column, God is Bigger, a popular feature in the Paris Beacon News since 2001. She has published stories in Guideposts anthologies, stories in Love is a Verb Devotional with Gary Chapman, articles in Christian and secular magazines, greeting card verses, and poems for calendars.  She is also a prolific  speaker for both Christian and secular groups, and loves to make people laugh while sharing her love for God and life.

Jeanette is the mother of two grown children, three grandchildren, and servant to four cats. She lives in Paris (not the French one), IL. with her husband, Kevin. Her hobbies include dining out, talking baby talk to her cats, avoiding housework, reading, and watching old classic movies.

Visit Jeanette on her blog, On Wings of Mirth and Worth, at www.jeanettelevellie.com.

Jeanette’s Giveaways

You can win one of ten free downloads of my debut humor devotional, Two Scoops of Grace with Chuckles on Top for your eReader. Here are the very simple rules:

For each share of this post link on Facebook, Twitter, or your blog, you will receive one entry.

For each like on Jeanette’s Author Page or my Two Scoops Book Page on Facebook, or follow on my Twitter page or this blog, you will receive one entry. If you already like and/or follow me, mention that and I will count it.

Please send Jeanette ONE comment at the end of this post to tell her how many times you shared, liked, or followed, so she can give you the correct amount of entries. She reserves the right to verify all information given, and disqualify anyone from the drawing who falsifies information. (Do not leave comments here to be entered, you MUST go to Jeanette’s blog post for the giveaway.)

Contest starts today and ends midnight, May 10, 2012.  Jeanette will announce the winners in a blog post Sunday, May 13, 2012.

….and a $100 Gift Card Drawing~~~WOWZA!!!

After you have read/reviewed Two Scoops, check out her blog at www.jeanettelevellie.com for a contest to win a $100 gift card by answering ten easy questions about the book! After she receives your entry, your name will go into the hat for a $100 gift card to one of the following places (your choice): Amazon, Barnes and Noble, CBD, Hobby Lobby, Chick-fil-A, Wal-Mart, Olive Garden, Red Lobster, or Ruby Tuesday. This giveaway will run until August 10, 2012 so there is PLENTY of time for you to enter!

The author sent me the above book for review purposes. She will allow me to keep the book. I have no other connection to and have received no other compensation from Jeanette Levellie. The entire blog tour can be found here.

Zombies and ghosts and NPR -- oh myyyy

It's been quite a week and I haven't even hit the eldest daughter's 17th birthday party on Saturday yet (yay cake!). I'm busy working on some new book proposals for my agent, Dawn, but stopped for a moment to listen to myself on NPR's Tell Me More program. Who was my lead in? Michelle Obama. I like to think she prepped the listening audience for me. Click here to read the official transcripts of my bit and hear my ridiculous speaking voice. No, they won't be asking me to man their pledge drive phones anytime in the future.

The UPS man loves me. Well, maybe not so much after dropping off heavy boxes twice this week. Once for my Zombie Tarot:

And today's shipment of The Girls' Ghost Hunting Guide:

I'm going to need a bigger office or have a giveaway soon.

WHEEEE! I feel a bit writerly all of a sudden. Where's my pipe and patched tweedy jacket?

So, how's your week going?

Bee happy: vanilla honey

 

I'm crazy for honey. I use it in my granola recipes, tea, on fresh bread and when the girls have a sore throat there's nothing better than a spoonful to soothe and give a little burst of energy to fight off the bug. Today I've started making vanilla-infused honey, I can't wait and see how it turns out in a couple of weeks!

If you'd like to make your own vanilla honey, cut a vanilla bean lengthwise and scrape the seeds into the honey and pop the pod into the jar. Turn the jar on its end once a day for up to two weeks (or longer) for a rich flavor. The more delicate taste of  the honey (such as clover),  the better you'll be able to taste the flavor of the vanilla.

Is it ready yet?

Is it ready yet?

Is it ready yet?

I've never been good at the waiting thing.

Zombie Tarot

YAY! The Zombie Tarot is thisclose to launching (June 5th)! Headcase Design (Housewives Tarot) did an amazing job with the illustrations and I couldn't be more excited to share a few of them with y'all!

The Zombie Tarot is available for pre-order at Amazon. 

You just had to take this card literally, didn't you? Rather than seeing the Death card in a spread as a bad omen, think of it as one of opportunity. This is a time to shed bad habits and abandon past restraints; a great transformation may be underway. Go ahead and bury those old relationships -- just be sure they don't crawl back out later. 

The Hanged Man has sacrificed himself, so that his friends might live to fight another day. But not every sacrifice is necessarily terminal. There's a good chance that you've arrived at an epiphany that will allow you to continue on your path. It’s time to discard old ideas and move on; often this is the only way to set yourself free.

Decisions, decisions. Where do you start - the head or the heart? The Lovers are duality in motion and you must make up your mind before moving on to the next phase.  If you decide to overlook that your lover is one of the undead, don’t be surprised when he or she rips your heart out. Maybe it’s better to leave this relationship behind – it’s starting to stink.

A feminine force to be reckoned with, the Empress embodies the cycles of birth, death and reanimation. Her maternal instincts kick into high gear whenever her offspring are threatened. She knows there’s no problem she can’t solve with patience, love, and a shovel to the back of the head. She is a nurturer, so her home is filled with both the living and the undead. Watch where your step.

Our hero begins his journey with a spring in his step and a healthy set of blinders, unaware of the zombie claws reaching for his feet. You’re bound to make plenty of mistakes in your new adventures, but your enthusiasm might be able to get you through a bumpy beginning. Try to pay attention to your surroundings, are those storm clouds on the horizon?

So whatcha think?  =]

Get your Viking on! Ice Picks anthology released today

"Well that was creepy."

Hopefully they're talking about my recent story, Betrayal, in Ice Picks: Most Chilling Stories from the Ice Plaza, and not my cooking. I won't take it too personally.

Released into the wild in its Kindle form today, those who like to ruffle the pages of a paperback will be able to get their tactile groove on soon.

Ready for a bit of a tease?

“What the holy Hell is that?” Cutting off the man mid-sentence, Muldoon pointed to a slab of rough ice across the hotel’s wide foyer. “Is there something in there?” Crossing under the chandelier and ignoring his wife as she tried to grab his parka to pull her across the floor, he slid closer and ran his hands over the six-foot long block of ice.

“Sir, that’s part of the new exhibit we’re installing. You’ll have to wait for the Grand Opening ceremony tomorrow to see it,” said the bellman. His shift nearing its end, he was ready to dump the tourists and head to the bar himself. Hours of explaining how to use a frozen toilet to guests can wear a man down.

“Fine… yeah. We’ll wait then,” Muldoon said. Scraping the ice with the soft edge of his glove, he couldn’t shake the feeling that the dark figure frozen inside had been looking at him.

Oooooh - spooky.

There are bits of naughtiness running all through this story, have some fun and check it out along with the other fine storytelling prowess of Jeremy Shipp, Todd Austin Hunt, Damien Walters Grintalis and more!