Pack, drive, talk, eat, eat, talk
We're off to visit my parents and sister's family for the weekend. Talk will probably center around our upcoming beach trip together. And we'll eat. And eat. Mom made 2 cakes and 2 pies in addition to the meals she's going to serve. I made Coconut Macadamia ice cream and am packing it on dry ice to take with us. My dad loves that flavor and has trouble finding it, so I made it homemade for him.
For more Six Word Saturday fun visit Cate at Show My Face.
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Fictitious To-Do Lists
I ran across an idea in an old "Real Simple" magazine the other day while I was killing time in a waiting room. I have no idea how old the magazine was, but it was a January issue. The writer had created to-do lists for various people, including Genghis Khan, Steve Jobs and J.K. Rowling. That little nub of an idea turned out to be lots of fun.
Sarah Palin
1. Call First Dude
2. Go moose hunting
3. Sell the plane
4. Fire the cook
5. Put on lipstick
6. Tell lame joke
AIG Execs
1 for the bailout
2 for CEO
3 for the bonus
4 hit the road
Shakespeare
1. Sharpen quill
2. Sharpen wit
3. Trim beard to fine point
4. Decide to be or not to be
Jack Sparrow
1. Commandeer ship
2. Pillage and plunder
3. Swagger
4. Woo wench
Wee Willy Winky
1. Run through town in nightgown
2. Rap at windows
3. Cry at locks
4. Check status of children at 8 o'clock
Your turn! If you decide to scribble out some to-do lists, please let me know! I'd love to read what you come up with.
Sarah Palin
1. Call First Dude
2. Go moose hunting
3. Sell the plane
4. Fire the cook
5. Put on lipstick
6. Tell lame joke
AIG Execs
1 for the bailout
2 for CEO
3 for the bonus
4 hit the road
Shakespeare
1. Sharpen quill
2. Sharpen wit
3. Trim beard to fine point
4. Decide to be or not to be
Jack Sparrow
1. Commandeer ship
2. Pillage and plunder
3. Swagger
4. Woo wench
Wee Willy Winky
1. Run through town in nightgown
2. Rap at windows
3. Cry at locks
4. Check status of children at 8 o'clock
Your turn! If you decide to scribble out some to-do lists, please let me know! I'd love to read what you come up with.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Signs of Spring
Robins visit my yard everyday.
Tulip leaves are pushing up through the earth.
I saw my first clump of blooming daffodils today.
Soft green buds line the branches of the weeping willow trees.
Barefoot kids enjoy the warmer weather.
Balls, bikes, and boys fill the yard.
My mind is full of ideas for curricula and classes for next year.
Soccer practice fills the evenings.
Forsythia bursts into gaudy, vibrant bloom.
I count down how many days of school are left for the year.
Open windows let in breezes that blow loose papers off tables and counters.
Sunshine days alternate with cold rain and mud.
Tulip leaves are pushing up through the earth.
I saw my first clump of blooming daffodils today.
Soft green buds line the branches of the weeping willow trees.
Barefoot kids enjoy the warmer weather.
Balls, bikes, and boys fill the yard.
My mind is full of ideas for curricula and classes for next year.
Soccer practice fills the evenings.
Forsythia bursts into gaudy, vibrant bloom.
I count down how many days of school are left for the year.
Open windows let in breezes that blow loose papers off tables and counters.
Sunshine days alternate with cold rain and mud.
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Six Word Saturday
Cold sprinkles dampened my grocery trip
Saturday almost always means a trip to Wal-Mart for the week's groceries. I don't like going in the rain, but it makes me really thankful that we now live in a house with an attached garage.
I saw a bumper sticker this week that said Mall-Wart - your place for cheap, plastic crap. So true, but I still shop there.
Go visit Cate at Show My Face for more fun with 6 words.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Impassioned to Write
Mama Kat's writing assignment #4 "What inspired you? Write about a time you were impassioned to write."
When I was 29 years old, I didn't write except in a prayer journal and that only sporadically. I had just given birth to my third child. And held him as he breathed his last breath only 5 days later. He was born missing the left ventricle of his heart.
Reed was beautiful. Honestly, the most beautiful of my five babes. His head was perfectly shaped. His eyes, a deep navy. His hair so soft, light brown in color.
I woke one morning several weeks after he died with feelings on my heart that had to be written down. The only line I remember is "a life measured in days, not decades". There was much more. I have a copy somewhere. It was published in our state La Leche League newsletter as well as in New Beginnings Magazine, another LLL publication. (I was a LLL Leader at the time.) It's the only piece I've written that's ever been published in a publication that large. But that's not what makes it important or memorable to me.
When I was 29 years old, I didn't write except in a prayer journal and that only sporadically. I had just given birth to my third child. And held him as he breathed his last breath only 5 days later. He was born missing the left ventricle of his heart.
Reed was beautiful. Honestly, the most beautiful of my five babes. His head was perfectly shaped. His eyes, a deep navy. His hair so soft, light brown in color.
I woke one morning several weeks after he died with feelings on my heart that had to be written down. The only line I remember is "a life measured in days, not decades". There was much more. I have a copy somewhere. It was published in our state La Leche League newsletter as well as in New Beginnings Magazine, another LLL publication. (I was a LLL Leader at the time.) It's the only piece I've written that's ever been published in a publication that large. But that's not what makes it important or memorable to me.
Something Really Important and Winner Announcement!
It was so much fun to read which book you would choose and why. Thanks so much for playing. This little blog has never gotten so much traffic!
The winner of the book is Brandy at Not Your Average Soccer Mom. I'm pretty sure she wanted Sundays at Tiffany's - a great choice! I may have to do another book giveaway. That was so much fun.
And now for something important.
Today is Compassion's Global Food Crisis Day. A small group of people have pledged together to give $1 for every comment on my other blog, Eat at Home. They are willing to give up to $100 and all you have to do is go leave a comment there. Please help us get to 100 comments!
The winner of the book is Brandy at Not Your Average Soccer Mom. I'm pretty sure she wanted Sundays at Tiffany's - a great choice! I may have to do another book giveaway. That was so much fun.
And now for something important.
Today is Compassion's Global Food Crisis Day. A small group of people have pledged together to give $1 for every comment on my other blog, Eat at Home. They are willing to give up to $100 and all you have to do is go leave a comment there. Please help us get to 100 comments!
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Spring Fling Giveaway!
The ladies at The Secret's in the Sauce are hosting a Spring Fling. As part of that, I am giving away 1 book to 1 lucky winner! You get to choose the book from this list:
The Weekend Novelist, by Robert J. Ray - A dynamic 52-week program to help you produce a finished novel, one weekend at a time.
If You Want to Write, by Brenda Ueland - I just finished reading this book on the recommendation of Jenners. It's a remarkable book about being true to yourself and pouring your creativity onto the page.
Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood, by Rebecca Wells - Women, friendships, mothers and daughters. Laughter, tears, pain and understanding.
Angry Housewives Eating Bon Bons, by Lorna Landvik - A story of the friendships forged in a book club.
A Parchment of Leaves, by Silas House - Eastern Kentucky in the early 1900s. A fantastic story from one of Kentucky's best writers. His words flow over the page like poetry.
Girl with a Pearl Earring, by Tracy Chevalier - Historical fiction placed in Holland during the 1660s. Wonderful story.
Sundays at Tiffany's, by James Patterson - I talked about this book on my blog recently. Pure book candy at its best!
All you have to do to enter is leave me a comment telling me which of these books you would choose if you win. Easy, right? The winner, who will be determined by random number, will be announced Wednesday. One entry per person, please!
Saturday, March 7, 2009
Six Word Saturday, Update on February Writing and My First Giveaway
How's that for a lot of stuff in one post? Since we're a week into March, I'll start with my update on my literary goals for February. Overall, I slid on the slippery path that other resolution makers slide down. Not much in the way of writing. Only a bit in the way of reading. I blame the flu, four kids who also had the flu and the heavy, gravitational pull of inactivity.
Now, Six Word Saturday and my first giveaway announcement:
Leave a comment, choose a book
On Tuesday, March 10 the ladies at The Secret's in the Sauce are hosting Spring Fling. I'll be participating here with my first book giveaway. So come back on Tuesday and leave me a comment for a chance to win one of my books. I'll have a list that you can choose from, should you be the lucky winner!
For more Six Word Saturday fun, visit Cate at Show My Face.
Now, Six Word Saturday and my first giveaway announcement:
Leave a comment, choose a book
On Tuesday, March 10 the ladies at The Secret's in the Sauce are hosting Spring Fling. I'll be participating here with my first book giveaway. So come back on Tuesday and leave me a comment for a chance to win one of my books. I'll have a list that you can choose from, should you be the lucky winner!
For more Six Word Saturday fun, visit Cate at Show My Face.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Don't Let Me Scare You
Hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia is the fear of long words. Isn't that preternatural?
Metrophobia is the fear or hatred of poetry. What folly, what melancholy.
Scriptophobia is the fear of writing in public. Maybe that's why so many of us have blogs.
Verbophobia is the fear of words. In case this is your fear, I'll end this post now.
Metrophobia is the fear or hatred of poetry. What folly, what melancholy.
Scriptophobia is the fear of writing in public. Maybe that's why so many of us have blogs.
Verbophobia is the fear of words. In case this is your fear, I'll end this post now.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Seeing Things
Writing is my main creative outlet. One reason I enjoy it is that it helps me see things in a different way. I notice the man who carries a packet of peanut butter crackers, a checkbook and a plastic fork in his shirt pocket. He's prepared for anything. My attention is drawn to the clothespins bobbing and pulling on the line as the shirts try to escape into the wind. I'm awakened at night by the puddle of moonlight spilling in through the window, like so much liquid mercury.
Lately, I've been dabbling with photography. I have a lot to learn, but trying to capture an image in the view finder has also taught me to see. What do I want to focus on? How does the background influence the subject? How can I make it more interesting? What about a photo makes me want to linger there a moment?
I don't draw well at all, but a few years ago I picked up the book Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain. That book is full of fascinating research about how we see things and how we are creative. There are also exercises to teach you how to draw what you see. First, you have to learn to see. Lines, angles, shapes and their relationship to each other.
Both drawing and photography have helped me see things better for writing. Dabbling in these pasttimes illuminates the details in life and that spills into my writing. What creative pursuits have you tried and how has it affected your main creative outlet?
Lately, I've been dabbling with photography. I have a lot to learn, but trying to capture an image in the view finder has also taught me to see. What do I want to focus on? How does the background influence the subject? How can I make it more interesting? What about a photo makes me want to linger there a moment?
I don't draw well at all, but a few years ago I picked up the book Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain. That book is full of fascinating research about how we see things and how we are creative. There are also exercises to teach you how to draw what you see. First, you have to learn to see. Lines, angles, shapes and their relationship to each other.
Both drawing and photography have helped me see things better for writing. Dabbling in these pasttimes illuminates the details in life and that spills into my writing. What creative pursuits have you tried and how has it affected your main creative outlet?
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