Rose Parade

January has been amazing for me.
So much has happened in such a short length of time.

I ended the year and started the new one traveling with the Porterville Panther Band -- to Disneyland and Pasadena for performances at the amusement park and at the famed Rose Parade.

Though I have attended the viewing of the floats before, I had never gone to an actual Rose Parade. I loved it. I could really smell the flowers as the floats went by.

Of course, it was especially special to me because my own alma mater Panther Band, under the direction of Jim Kusserow, was marching in the parade. How honored I felt to be with them, covering the stories.

Click below to read stories (must scroll down on page)
Panther band heads to Southern California
PHS band performs at Disneyland's Christmas parade
PHS band brings crowd to its feet at annual bandfest
Panthers march with the roses

ALSO this month:
I started writing for the Visalia Times Delta and the Tulare Advance Register; I landed some writing assignments for TC Style magazine.

And I entered two short-short story contests. One at Clarity of Night -- Though I didn't place, I did get a lot of positive feedback from quite a few people on my story. Jason (who runs the contest) contacted me and said my story was right up there with the best of them when he was judging them.

The other contest was through Absolute Write and it involved a Father's Day story -- my entry earned me a third-place win.

I am already excited about what February might have to offer. :)
In the meantime, I'll be right here.... writing.