The Olympics of Life

Last night most of us watched the Closing Ceremonies for the Olympics - well, I say most of us because I didn't actually watch it. My kids wanted to watch a movie so I snuggled up with them and did that instead. Anyway, back to my real discussion...

I'm not a sports fanatic by any means. The only time I watch sports on television is when the Olympics are on. Why? For me, it's about the world coming together in the name of sportsmanship to see who will reign supreme until the next four year cycle. As a former elite gymnast, I appreciate the dedication, perseverance and determination of the worlds athletes. And who doesn't like to watch their own country compete, pride for their fellow man echoing in their heart?

As I religiously watched the artistic gymnastics competition, both mens and womens, a sense of awe permeated my being. The sport has changed so much since I competed. When you consider what athletes were doing skill-wise in the '70's as compared to now (I competed in the '80's and 90's - I'm not that old!), the sport has come a long way. I'd love to say I have a favorite event to watch, but as I watch the gymnasts tumble, vault and fly around the bars, not to mention leap along a four-inch wide beam - I can't pick one. I am amazed by all of it. What fills me with pride is not only watching what they can do but how they react to the outcome.

In the Olympics, like in life, sometimes you're the athlete collecting the gold at the top of the podium, and sometimes you're the one who didn't even make top five. I was so proud of our Canadian womens gymnastics team because even though they didn't bring home a medal, they were fifth in the world which is the best standing they've had for some time.

Often in life, we get down on ourselves because we didn't get the number one spot, or second, or third. We forget to appreciate how far we've come in a short amount of time. Watching the Olympics, seeing countries participate who were not allowed to before, watching as sports are added to the roster, reminds me of how far we can all go in our lives with a little determination, perseverance and the belief we can do anything.

Now that the Olympics are over, let's not forget that spirit of togetherness that for two weeks brought the world together to witness the best the world had to offer. As the highs and lows of life reach us, let's remember to be grateful for those who coach us along in life - our friends, our family, our fellow writers, our publishers, our readers - and give thanks for another day to give it our best shot.

And because today is my birthday, I want to give everyone a treat! I will give away a paperback of REBOUND to one lucky commenter (Canada and the US. If you're from overseas, I'll let you choose another ecopy.)
REBOUND is Book 1 of the Love and Balance series based around my love of the sport of gymnastics. Book 2, The Perfect Score is available now as well, and I'm revealing the cover for Tumbling Hearts which will be Book 3 available this fall. I also have a new sweet, paranormal romantic short story that just came out LOST IN HER MIND. I'll also give away a pdf copy of that to a lucky commenter! So TWO prizes and I'll pick a winner at the end of the week :)

Visit with me at: www.kelliekamryn.com

There's Gold in Them Thar Hills!

Hi everyone,
This post is going to be the first of a series about the Klondike Gold Rush which is the setting for my work-in-progress, ALASKAN HEAT.  I’ve found so many interesting facts about the era and the people that I thought it would make a great post. I hope you enjoy!

Yukon Territory 1897

The Klondike Gold Rush

The gold rush started in July, 1897 when two ships docked - one in San Francisco and one in Seattle - each carrying miners returning from the Yukon. The miners carried large amounts of gold and didn’t hesitate to proclaim great amounts of wealth was to be had in the Yukon. The press was alerted and papers carried the story to the masses – stories as ridiculous as gold nuggets lying just barely underground. * More on the reality in later posts.*
Soon, miners of all shapes and sizes – both male and female - called "stampeders", were on their way to the gold fields. Within six months, as many as 100,000 gold-seekers headed to the Yukon.
 Only approximately 30,000 completed the trip.

Most stampeders knew nothing about where they were going, so pamphlets were available to help them on their way. *Note: The United States was still in economic decline at this time, so the lure of money, much less a way to get-rich-quick made many leave or sell what little they had and head to Alaska. *

 Many of the pamphlets were pure fiction, some written by men who never even made the journey. But nevertheless, the pamphlets made outrageous claims of “easy” routes to the gold fields. Outfitters – both along the West coast and in Alaska - sprang up overnight that were more than happy to sell the stampeders whatever they needed to get started – most of the time at outrageous prices, especially the outfitters in Alaska. The supplies included food, clothing, tools and camping, mining and transportation equipment. Helping the outfitters in this regard were the Northwest Mounted Police who required all stampeders to have one year’s supply of goods before they allowed them across the border into Canada. *More about the different routes in later posts*  The supplies equaled roughly one ton of goods per person.

Here is a list of required supplies.

1898 Supplies
McDougall and Secord Klondike Outfit List (clothing & food):

2 suits heavy knit underwear 6 pairs wool socks 1 pairs heavy moccasins 2 pairs german stockings 2 heavy flannel overshirts 1 heavy woollen sweater 1 pair overalls 2 pairs 12-lb. blankets 1 waterproof blanket 1 dozen bandana handkerchiefs 1 stiff brim cowboy hat 1 pair hip rubber boots 1 pair prospectors' high land boots 1 mackinaw, coat, pants, shirt 1 pair heavy buck mitts, lined 1 pair unlined leather gloves 1 duck coat, pants, vest 6 towels 1 pocket matchbox, buttons, needles and thread comb, mirror, toothbrush etc. mosquito netting/1 dunnage bag 1 sleeping bag/medicine chest pack saddles, complete horses flat sleighs

100 lbs. navy beans 150 lbs. bacon 400 lbs. flour 40 lbs. rolled oats 20 lbs. corn meal 10 lbs. rice 25 lbs. sugar 10 lbs. tea 20 lbs. coffee 10 lbs. baking powder 20 lbs. salt 1 lb. pepper 2 lbs. baking soda 1/2 lb. mustard 1/4 lb. vinegar 2 doz. condensed milk 20 lbs. evaporated potatoes 5 lbs. evaporated onions 6 tins/4 oz. extract beef 75 lbs. evaporated fruits 4 pkgs. yeast cakes 20 lbs. candles 1 pkg. tin matches 6 cakes borax 6 lbs. laundry soap 1/2 lb. ground ginger 25 lbs. hard tack 1 lb. citric acid 2 bottles Jamaica ginger

*This list found on Adventure Learning Foundation Site. http://www.questconnect.org/index.htm

Remember, all of this per person had to be hauled over a mountain range. That’s what we’ll talk about next time. J

Find out more about Jennifer

 Jakes and her books at 

www.jenniferjakes.com

Building the Perfect Hero!

Welcome to the laboratory!
Today I want to talk about building the perfect man...er, hero. I saw the topic addressed on a friend's blog where she took votes, body part by body part! ;)
Seems we women have varied tastes when it comes to men.......a good thing or else you'd all be knocking on my door, chasing my hubby! LOL

Anyway, let start with something easy - something we can all agree on.
The Perfect Hero has to be Truthful, have Honor, be Loyal, a Hard Worker ( in whatever chosen profession), Kind, Sensitive to the Heroine's feelings, have Stamina in the bedroom......... What else???

Now comes the fun part!
Tall, Dark and Handsome?

Or Short, Blond and Handsome?

Long Hair, perfect for running your fingers through?

Or short hair, also perfect for running your fingers through ?

Facial Hair?

Or Clean Shaven?

Some Ink?

Or not?

Hairy Chest?

Or Smooth Abs?

And what about the Eyes?
Brown?

Blue?

 Or Green?

So let's hear it, ladies!!! Describe your Perfect Man! :)

Miss Kitty Lied. . .

Oh, Miss Kitty, how you deceived us all. Remember Gunsmoke and Sheriff Matt Dillon’s main squeeze? Perfect silk dress, perfectly styled red curls – perfect beauty mark. How clean and wonderful the life of a Wild West saloon girl must have been. . . 

*insert sound of screeching brakes here*

Um, no. Let’s look at some facts. In descending order there were: Parlor Houses, Brothels, Cribs. Even in a Parlor House *think 5 star hotel* where a night of food, fun and the other “F” word might cost a man $200+, the girl only averaged $10 per week because of the cut the Madam (or the house) took the rest to cover the costs of food, wine and the girl’s room and board.

 Brothel girls could make $2.50 - $7.00 per customer, but she had to pay room and board out of this plus any other expenses she had. Oh, and Brothels were significantly less grand than a Parlor House. Parlor houses the girl probably spent the entire night with one man and her sheets were changed afterward. Brothel girls saw more “traffic” and her sheets might be changed once per week.

 Cribs were a closet-like space where the girls lived and worked. She would rent this room for $10-$20 per week. She charged a man as little as 25 cents depending on how dirty or run-down she and/or her crib was. Her profit was in volume. In a cattle or mining town, she would little more than stay in bed as the men lined up outside her door. Normally, a crib nymph would see 20 to 30 men per night. During a cattle drive, she could see as many as 75 to 100 men per night. And no clean sheets here. She put a rain slicker over the bottom of her bed to protect the sheets from mud and cow manure since the cowboy might take off his hat, but not his boots or pants. Volume, remember?  

Yes, there were Saloon Girls who could just serve drinks, but they could also “go upstairs” for extra money. And Dance Hall Girls, yes, they were there, earning 12 ½ cents per dance. But all in all after researching this topic, I have to say, Miss Kitty lied to us.

What do you think?

*All statistics were found in UPSTAIRS GIRLS: Prostitution in the American West by Michael Rutter