100 words #6

Okay, so I didn't get this done in a week. I will still make it to 7, though!

I chose 7 adjectives and 7 nouns at random from the dictionary. I matched up one of each for seven days. Each day for a week, I will write a 100-word story using and/or inspired by (loosely or closely) each word pair.

#6

adjective – unrifled: of a firearm; not having rifling or internal spiral grooves inside the barrel

noun – remanence: the magnetic flux that remains in a magnetic circuit after an applied magnetomotive force has been removed

Will a magnet stick to a Slinky? A slinky’s metal, right? It makes a sound like metal. Slinky slinky slinky slinky. I wonder if that’s why they named it that. Slinky slinky slinky ow! I better not snap it like that anymore. I’m hungry. Grapes! Do dogs like grapes? Nope, dogs don’t like grapes. Ew! Okay, paper towels.... Okay, we’re out of paper towels. Um. Regular towel. Oh, it’s touching me it’s touching me it’s touching me! Annnnnd it’s in the washer. Okay, deal with that later. I’m not that hungry anymore. What was I doing? Grapes. Fridge. Magnet. Slinky! 

Does anyone see the connection between the words and the story? Yeah, pretty tenuous on this one.

100 words #5

I chose 7 adjectives and 7 nouns at random from the dictionary. I matched up one of each for seven days. Each day for a week, I will write a 100-word story using and/or inspired by (loosely or closely) each word pair.

#5

adjective – southernmost: farthest south

noun – lira: a monetary unit of Italy, Turkey, Israel, Malta, etc. either currently or in the past

Groceries:

-ramen, one case

-tortillas, 12-pack, burrito size

-peanut butter (store brand)

-jelly (store brand)

-bread (white, store brand, day-old shelf if possible)

-bag rice

-bag kidney beans

-hot dogs (regular, not all beef)

-ketchup (packets from McDonald’s on the way out)

-toilet paper (six-pack only)

-cat food

The cat doesn’t know how to eat less. She wouldn’t know why she was going hungry. It’s all right. The electric bill can be another week late until I get my paycheck so we can pay the phone bill.

This is the lowest our bank account has ever been. Happy New Year.

100 words #4

I chose 7 adjectives and 7 nouns at random from the dictionary. I matched up one of each for seven days. Each day for a week, I will write a 100-word story using and/or inspired by (loosely or closely) each word pair.

#4

adjective – planar: of or pertaining to a geometric plane; flat or level

noun – half-back: one of two backs who typically line up on each side of the fullback; the main ball-carrier in football

Apparently it wasn’t a game, it was a campaign.  And despite the name, there were very few dragons, although they—the made-up characters—did spend a lot of time in actual dungeons. Books and papers with strange charts and lists were spread all over the plane of the table. Kirk was explaining to her how his friend Jim’s character... sort of protected his own character during fights. Battles?

“So he’s like the fullback to your half-back?” she asked.

“Um, sure, I guess,” Kirk said with a look halfway between confused and disgusted. He turned his attention back to his books.

100 words #3

(I totally forgot about this yesterday! There will be another one later on tonight.)

I chose 7 adjectives and 7 nouns at random from the dictionary. I matched up one of each for seven days. Each day for a week, I will write a 100-word story using and/or inspired by (loosely or closely) each word pair.

#3

adjective – middle-aged: being of the age intermediate between youth and old age, roughly between 45 and 65

noun – enceinte: a wall or enclosure, as of some fortified place

A tire shop. A phone number. Coffee. Then a movie. Then dinner and a movie only they never got to the movie that time, couldn’t stop talking. Six months later, a casual (but actually terrified) request: “You wanna just get married?” Laughter, a kiss. A small, simple wedding. A really big yard sale, then down to one house and a mortgage with two names. Today it’s twelve years together (starting from the tire shop), and they’re both forty-seven, and they’re (inexplicably to many) just as happy as ever. She is his comfort; he is her fortress. Middle age is good.

100 words #2

I chose 7 adjectives and 7 nouns at random from the dictionary. I matched up one of each for seven days. Each day for a week, I will write a 100-word story using and/or inspired by (loosely or closely) each word pair.

#2

adjective – granular: of the nature of granules; grainy

noun – boundary: something that indicates bounds or limits; a limiting or bounding line

There’s a line of salt across the doorway, so I can’t enter. Counting every grain would take too long—five minutes, at least—and I am hungry. I can hear their heartbeats through the closed door, quick with terror, like little rabbits. Their fear smells sharp and sweet, the way I vaguely remember green apples tasting. That tang in the back of my throat only increases my thirst. There’s a scuffling from inside: they’re attempting to hide, as if it will make any difference. The curtains are closed. No salt line on the windowsill. I smile and prepare to leap.

100 words #1

I chose 7 adjectives and 7 nouns at random from the dictionary. I matched up one of each for seven days. Each day for a week, I will write a 100-word story using and/or inspired by (loosely or closely) each word pair.

#1

adjective - cross-country: 1. directed or proceeding over fields, through woods, etc., rather than on a road or path: a cross-country race. 2. from one end of the country to the other: a cross-country flight

noun - antepenult: the third syllable from the end of a word, as in te in antepenult

I can’t be last. The biggest loser in a neon t-shirt and tennis shoes. My shins are killing me, I’m covered in sweat, and my face is the color of the inside of an over-ripe watermelon. I’m not going through all of this and ending up last. I’ve got nothing left to give, but I give it anyway. I pass Grandma In Yellow Shorts. And in one last burst, I stagger across the finish line just ahead of Ninety Pound Ponytail Girl Who Is Probably Anemic. Yes! Third from last. Third from last isn’t too bad for my first marathon.

Check-in

It is now slightly more than halfway through the year. (Cue flailing and shock.) How am I doing with my not-resolutions from the beginning of the year?

I will spend less time on the computer and more time reading books.

Um, sort of. I still probably spend way too much time on the computer, but I have read 21 books so far this year! I've finished a total of 2 (TWO) books since school got out. You know, a month ago? Oy. I did a lot better with this when I got 20 minutes of reading time with my students times three classes a day. I didn't read the whole 20 minutes every class every day, but even with just 20 minutes a day, period, I made a lot of progress. If I wasn't suddenly hooked on the Supernatural DVDs a friend is loaning me, I would probably be getting more reading done.

But hey! 21 books in just over 6 months! Not bad, I think. If I push it, I might make 50 by the end of the year, and that would be awesome! 
 
I will purge useless/broken/unwanted/unused stuff from the house.

I had a yard sale a few weeks ago. We got rid of the queen bed in the guest room (and replaced it with a futon which takes up way less space), a little table, some speakers, the bean bag chair we never used, and our old bookcase. We now have room for two NEW bookcases (which are jam packed full! and now there are NO books in stacks on the floor in my office), and we shifted some things around the dining area so it's more open and, I think, looks nicer. Anything not sold at the yard sale was carted off to Goodwill. Yay! We also cleaned up the guest room a little, got rid of an embarrassing amount of trash, I even managed to part with some wardrobe items I never wore. 

I will write at night in my Book of Days planner/journal at least a few lines about that day.

I've been pretty good about this. What usually happens is I'll space it for a while, then do two or three or four days at a time, but that still works. (Sometimes I look at my Facebook activity to remind myself what I did!) It will be really cool to look back on this in a few years, or even a few months. However, it's not exactly something I'll want to pass on to my children and grandchildren. There's some really really personal stuff in there. It's a just-for-me treasure. 

I will be a better housekeeper (which will hopefully be easier to do with less Stuff).

After the yard sale, the house was a wreck for a while as we moved things around, waited until we had money to buy bookcases, put them together, organized books, etc. etc. Ugh, I hated it! Since we got all of that squared away, however, it's still looking pretty nice. The piles of books on the floor of my office have a place now, freeing up floor space so there's only a very small pile o' stuff in there now. For the most part, dishes are being washed and then put away in a reasonable amount of time, mail gets sorted as soon as it comes in, the laundry is under control(ish), and you can usually see the surface of both the coffee table and the dining table! 

I will be a better listener and not an interrupter or a wait-until-you're-done-talking-so-I-can-say-what-I-wanted-to-say-er.

I think I am getting better at this. Although with some friends, sometimes, the only way to get a word in edgewise is to interrupt! ;)

I will pray more.

This still isn't happening as much or as often as I'd like it to or it should be, but what I have been doing is when I tell someone "I'll pray for you," whether it's on a Facebook post or in a letter or a text, I pray right then. There at my desk, in the car, wherever, just a quick prayer for them and their situation. That way I don't forget about it by putting it off until "the right time." It's always the right time for prayer.

I will write more--more letters, more blog posts, more journal entries, more stories, more poems.

Not so much with the blog posts, eh? I did, however, participate in Camp NaNo this June. It's just like NaNoWriMo in November, only they do two sessions in the summer: one in June and one in August. I wrote 50,138(ish) words in 30 days. The quick way to describe the story is "1920's carnival time-travel romance." I really like the story and I have the next at least 20-30 pages fairly well plotted out. Past that, I have more vague ideas, but I do have ideas! I thought I might have enough for a Book Two, but now I'm thinking it'll probably just be Part Two of the same book. I haven't written anything since June 30th (that's 11 days now), and I really need and want to go back to it. I'm actually not totally sick to death of the story, and I have IDEAS! This is a big deal. I've done NaNoWriMo 7 years in a row and have never finished any of those stories. I did continue to write on a couple of them past November, but then those, too, petered out to nothing. It would be a really great step for me to FINISH a story!

I've also tinkered with a couple of short stories, and of course I've done my usual geeky RPG writing with a couple of friends on IM. (I bet between the three of us, we easily do 50,000 words a month.) And I wrote three letters just today!

I will find a lesson plan format that works for me and I will plan in advance as well as I am able.

This was mandated by my school. After a lot of fussing and asking questions and "what if"ing and discussing, we finally got a template that, I think, works pretty well. It's not overwhelming, but it communicates to the teacher (me) and any administrators that happen to walk in generally what we are/should be doing that day. It's good. I just print out a few at a time and fill them in with pencil, usually for anywhere between 2-5 days at a time.

I will remember that I am not teaching Language Arts, I am teaching people.

(This is turning into a really long post, sorry.) This isn't an exact response to the not-resolution, but stick with me. During the Midsummer Night's Dream/Summer Solstice party I helped to host and throw last month, we did a neat little ritual I read about online. Everyone wrote down one or two or a few things they wanted to let go of, then we threw the scraps of paper into a fire as a symbolic gesture of watching them float away as smoke. I wrote down "anger" as one of mine. Certainly my students, individually and as a group, would really get on my nerves sometimes, especially the last month or so of school. Too often, I came to realize, I would react in anger instead of rationally and calmly. I realized I even do it at home to my husband sometimes, even to my pets! I've been trying to be conscious of that, and when I feel that anger rising up in me, I remember (or attempt to, as much as I can) that I'm speaking to a person (or an animal) and that 99% of the time, what they're doing is not to personally upset or attack me. They're just being themselves. I need to chill out, breathe, and handle the situation appropriately. Little by little little, I'm getting a bit better at this. 

I will not dwell on the past any more than I can absolutely help.

This is hard. I miscarried my second child in February, and this is the thing that comes up to bother me the most. The most often and the most strongly. It seems like sometimes when I think I'm doing really well, almost to the point of being smug about it--"I can look at this friend's baby pictures on Facebook and not cry!" "I can have a conversation about childbirth with a friend!" "I can talk about our 'someday' nursery or parenting skills with my husband!"--that's when I get slammed the hardest. I literally feel sick and my body feels heavy. I don't know how healthy this is, but the only thing I can do, right now at least, is to push it away into the back corner of my mind and make myself focus on something else. Usually this is after I've given into the feelings for a while and cried, sometimes alone, sometimes with a person I love. I might write about it, or just compose an imaginary blog post or letter in my head because I deal with things in words. And then I have to put it away, because otherwise I can't function and have a happy life. If I dwell on it, I just can't. So I guess I'll just continue to struggle with this... I don't know how long. It won't disappear when I finally hold my own baby in my arms, but maybe, hopefully, it will lessen. I just want to be pregnant and give birth to a healthy baby so, so badly. If you pray, please pray for my husband and I.

I will Skype loved ones that live far away.

I have not done this. I should.

I will love this year.

Yeah, for the most part, I have.

Goodbye 2011, Hello 2012

In 2011:

I turned a quarter of a century old 26 OHMYGOSH why can't I remember how old I am???
I finished my first year of teaching -- 8th grade Language Arts.
I spent my first summer completely free from any job or obligations... and it was wonderful.
I built a blanket-and-pillow fort in my living room and spent the whole day in it--twice.
I dyed my hair purple for a while. Then black, to cover up the purple and be an adult again.
I hosted a Harry Potter party, a Star Wars party, and co-hosted another HP party and a beautiful candlelit Edgar Allan Poe party.
I sewed things.
I knit things.
I crocheted things.
I wrote 50,000 words of a novel for the 7th year in a row during November's NaNoWriMo challenge.
I had a couple of outdoor tea parties with my wonderful knitting group, Weekly Fiber.
I rode my bicycle, Mabel (although not as much as I would have liked to).
I wandered the Farmer's Market several times, although I only ever bought peaches and a delicious ham and cheese crepe.
I lived on almost nothing but Ramen and beans for a week at a time, several times.
I got a cat, and we slowly got used to one another.
I spent way too much time on Facebook and Pinterest (which probably contributed to the minimal blogging).
I spent a fantastic weekend in Denver with my husband, who whisked me away for a birthday getaway of rich food, a funny play, lots of walking, and even a little history.
I had some really spectacular fails as a teacher, but some really great wins, too.
I became obsessed with 1920's fashion, hair, makeup, and music.
I helped plant grass in our tiny back yard.
I spent my fourth Christmas without my little brother, Logan. Miss him every day.
I became very discouraged about ever getting pregnant after a heartbreaking miscarriage in 2010, then angry with God, then resigned, then at peace that everything will happen in his perfect timing.
I said goodbye to some wonderful 8th graders, and was holding the door wide open for others to leave.
I welcomed a new crop of 8th graders, who seemed so small and strange at the beginning of the year, and how are now just "my kids" (although they are still certainly strange).
I grew a little more distant from some friends and a little closer with others.
I read a lot of really good books and a few crummy ones.
I hosted a nice little New Year's Eve party last night with board games, snacks, and good friends.

Goodbye, 2011! You were a good year, a hard year, a memorable year.

In 2012:

I will spend less time on the computer and more time reading books.
I will purge useless/broken/unwanted/unused stuff from the house.
I will write at night in my Book of Days planner/journal at least a few lines about that day.
I will be a better housekeeper (which will hopefully be easier to do with less Stuff).
I will be a better listener and not an interrupter or a wait-until-you're-done-talking-so-I-can-say-what-I-wanted-to-say-er.
I will pray more.
I will write more--more letters, more blog posts, more journal entries, more stories, more poems.
I will find a lesson plan format that works for me and I will plan in advance as well as I am able.
I will remember that I am not teaching Language Arts, I am teaching people.
I will not dwell on the past any more than I can absolutely help.
I will Skype loved ones that live far away.
I will love this year.

Welcome, 2012!

Some Lists

Things I Am Not Allowed To Buy At Yard Sales This Summer
-yarn
-fabric
-sewing patterns
-buttons (unless they're really really cute and/or vintage. they don't take up much room, okay?)
-books. at all. period. (unless it's Pride and Prejudice, because somehow I've got a little bit of a collection going of different editions) (or unless they're classics that I've specifically been looking for)
-another typewriter, no matter how cute it is or how cheap. the one I have is enough.
-knitting needles
-clothes. at all. period. even though I have an 18 inch high stack of clothes to give to Goodwill.
-shoes, unless they are the perfect gold sandals I've been looking for since last summer
-did I mention that I'm not allowed to buy books? remind me, if you see me at a yard sale. I literally have NO ROOM for any more. I don't have enough room for the ones I do have.

Things I Do Need To Buy At Yard Sales This Summer
-frame for a queen bed (guest room)
-nightstand (guest room)
-lamp (guest room)
-curtain rods (various rooms)
-sliding glass door doggie door insert thing
-the perfect gold sandals I've been looking for since last summer

Things I Might Buy At Yard Sales This Summer, Depending On Price, Quality, Etc.
-a bike, depending on how close my summer job ends up being to the house, since I might ride there
-things for my classroom (assuming I get a job for this fall) like posters, maybe a couple of fake plants, perhaps a desk if the school doesn't have a good one, file cabinets, and so on
-Gunne Sax dresses, since I seem to have good luck finding gorgeous ones in good condition for cheap
-violin sheet music, perhaps. (I really need to call and get a teacher.)

What do YOU want to find at yard sales this summer? Is there anything YOU'RE not allowed to buy?

Buh-guh-uhhhh...

Goodness, it's been almost a whole month since I last posted, and that wasn't even a real post! (No, I was not able to recover those six pages, but I got over and and wrote them again. *Sigh*) I'm so busy all the time, and when I'm not busy, I'm either playing catch-up on all the stuff I've missed while I was busy (grocery shopping, cleaning, laundry) or chilling out so I can function the rest of the time. Those of you who know me "in real life" see me occasionally on Facebook; those of you that don't... well, you're probably not even reading this blog anymore because of lack of updates!

Since it's late at night and I can't phrase anything in an interesting way, I give you a little update, in the form of a list.

1. School (college classes) is going all right. I'm not able to keep up with all the reading, but the papers and projects are going just fine, and I like being in class because of the discussions we have. Very interesting (nerdy, English-y, teacher-y) stuff.

2. Other school (middle school) is also going well. Parent-teacher conferences were Wednesday night and all day Thursday, but I'll save my ruminations on that for the reflection journal I have to keep for one of my education classes. If the entry is any good, and would make any sense to someone not in my classroom, I might post it here.

3. Halloween is in a week! My second-favorite holiday ever. I sort of invited myself to go trick-or-treating with a friend and her kids (two of them, 4 and 7) because no one I knew, to my knoweldge, was doing anything fun on Halloween to which I was invited. Anything in town either costs to much, is overrun with old people (like the charity masked ball) or involves heavy drinking at one of the "clubs." No thank you. So I will be Snow White and traipse around with (I think) a princess, a bottle of glue, and a guy with a sword. Yay!

4. NaNoWriMo is also coming up! Yes, I'm going to attempt it despite all my crazy business. I may not reach 50,000 words (for the first time in five years! *wince*), but I do still want to write something during the month of November, and try to make at least some of the write-ins. What is my novel about? Look at my Halloween costume! Yes, another retelling. (Two years ago I did a modern-day Pride and Prejudice, which turned out... eh. All right. Still unfinished, so apparently not good enough to continue after November.) I'm not sure where I'm going with it, but at least I have sort of a plot and a handful of characters.

5. Yes, we've lived in this house for 3 months, and I still cannot see the top of my sewing table. There's always so much to do (especially when it comes to cleaning) and so little time to do it! Luckily, I don't have to sew anything for my costume. I just miss it! I'd love to make even a pair of PJ pants, or hem a curtain, or something! Until the day when I can get to it, though, I'll content myself as best I can with knitting (much more portable, doesn't take up nearly as much space) and other random crafting. (I'm fashioniong a poison apple for Halloween, and I bought stuff to make a Fall wreath for the front door, too.)

6. Sune is wonderful and adorable, of course. She had a bath tonight and is all fluffy and pretty. If she wasn't a mutt, she would be a lovely show dog, I think. She just... makes me happy. I want to snuggle her all the time. (Geeze, if I'm this bad about my freaking dog, how bad will I be when I have a real kid of my own?)

7. This coming week is Red Ribbon Week (sort of like Spirit Week is for high schoolers, but with a "Say no to drugs!" theme) at the middle school. Each day has a themed dress-up day, and I'll try to take pictures of my outfits during the week. It's like a whole week of Halloween for me, so you know I'm thrilled!

8. (Hey, this is Thing 8! Could this count as an 8 Things Friday, just a day late?) I miss blogging. I do little mini-blogs (micro-super-mini!) on Facebook, but it's just not the same. Maybe I could start doing some Wordless Wednesdays like some of my blogging friends, and a Linktastic Thursday/Sunday/Whateverday. That's minimal-ish writing effort on my part, but still some form of blogging and communication with all three people still reading this thing. We'll see, I guess!

Kidding!

Just so everyone knows, my last post was 95% sarcasm. I wasn't really that upset. I thought that would be clear because of how dramatic it was, but I understand tone of voice and facial expression doesn't come through on the internet. Whoops!

Carrington called me Saturday morning and said she'd felt awful all day since reading that blog post, and that she was so sorry, and she didn't mean to upset me. I had to reassure her that I was just giving her a hard time, and it was all okay.

I promise I'm not really that mean and cranky! No worries, Carrington! I'll be calling you tonight to see if you want to come into town early tomorrow and go write before group.

We're back from the faire, and extremely hot (because we left the A/C off all weekend and our upstairs apartment is like a sauna now) and tired. We had a really fun time, though! I'll be taking it easy tonight and posting pictures tomorrow. Night, all!

I knew it!

I predicted this just yesterday. Apparently Carrington wrote twelve--that's 12!!--blog posts in the last few days, but didn't put them up. Instead, she used the sneaky post-dating option Blogger has to set them to post at a certain date and time. Well, the certain date would be today, and the certain time would be within two or three minutes of each other in the last hours of the last day of July.

Technically, we didn't say how or when we would post our entries. Technically, she won the contest by posting more entries in July than I did. Technically.

But I just want you all to know that I feel very betrayed by her sneakiness.

Hurt, even.

I'll probably still buy her a cup of coffee.

But I don't have to like it.

Oh, and Carrington? Maybe your explosive problems are karma for your CHEATING SNEAKING WAYS.

(But I'm such a big person that I still love you, and I'm still glad we did this. But if/when we go have coffee and write on Monday, you might have to be seen with me in full Tudor regalia because the other girls in writers' group wanted to see my costume. So THERE!)

Last Post of July

Well, there are 36 minutes left in the month of July as I'm typing this. (I just typed "26," then thought a minute, added in my head, and changed it to "36." Stupid math. Stupid numbers.) It seems that I have won the blogging contest, unless Carrington puts up 7 more posts in the next half hour. I wouldn't put it past her, sneaky lass that she is. ;)

But whatever the outcome, I'm really glad we started this little competition. It made me think, it made me start taking walks, it certainly made me write more than I would have. I learned how to upload pictures on Blogger, and what is and is not acceptable html in comments. I took pictures, I took memes. I got to know some commenters a little better. I expounded upon subjects I normally wouldn't discuss. I learned a lot about Carrington, in all her posts. All in all, I deem this a very productive, helpful, growth-inspiring exercise. Huzzah!

Carrington, I raise my free chai latte to you! :D How's next Monday afternoon sound? We can write someplace for a while and then go to the Dames d'Plume meeting.

8 Random Things

1. I have the lining of my Tudor gown bodice almost ready to go. I used two pieces of muslin instead of one piece of muslin and one piece of heavy interfacing. I would like to breathe at least a little at the faire. But I am attempting the "boning" which means, in my case, zip ties. Cheap, plentiful, and not so stiff they'll squish me. I've sewn the 22 channels, four each in both back pieces, and 14 in the front. The zip ties I got today weren't satisfactory, though, so I'll be buying better ones and inserting them tomorrow. Wish me luck!

2. I haven't been doing so well with my chores this past week. Last week I did none of the weekly ones except my walks, and toward the end of the week I'd stopped making the bed every day. *Sigh* But it's a new week now (if three days into it already), and I'm going to try and do better.

3. If you haven't watched this kiwi video, you need to. *Sniff* (I tried to put the actual video here, but apparently the internet hates me tonight. ARGH.)

4. A woman came through my check-out line at work today wearing two vests. She had on a white t-shirt, close-fitting, with a short vest buttoned over the top of it... and then another similar vest open over the top of that. Both vests had black satin backs, and both had some sort of ribbon-through-a-buckle to tighten them (is there a technical word for that?) in the back. I saw this because the outer vest was shorter than the under. They were both black, though I think the outer vest had thin grey pinstripes. It was most peculiar. I also remember that she had very very long earrings made up of several different types of chains; they brushed the tops of her shoulders. Hm.

5. I cannot believe how fast this month has gone. Actually, this entire year seems to have flown by! In just a few more days, I'll be hosting a picnic in the park with a few girlfriends, just for the sake of getting together to catch up and have fun. And then the following weekend, we'll be at Liz and Jamie's for the Renaissance faire!

6. The faire weekend is also our 5th anniversary! Let's see, five years ago today I was probably.... making the boutonnieres for the men in the wedding party to wear, as well as my bouquet and my bridesmaids' (they were all fake flowers; I still have my bouquet lying atop one of our bookshelves). In a few more days, family would be coming in from out of town. Matt and I were making several trips over the course of a couple weeks up to our new apartment, an hour and a half from where we lived at the time, to fill it with used furniture. We've come so far in such a short amount of time, but it also simultaneously seems like I've known him forever.

7. I want to go see Mama Mia!, and I have a free movie ticket from a friend, but I can't use it until, I believe, July 29th because you have to wait 12 days after a new movie comes out if you want to use that free ticket. I'll be out of town August 1st-3rd for the faire, but would anyone like to come see it with me later that week? I know I'll have the 4th off because I always have Mondays off for writers' group. Let me know!

8. I think I am out of things to say. I hope you're all having a wonderful week so far!

Speak up!

I'm so tired of people who mumble or talk too softly to be heard! Unless you have a sore throat, there is no reason for you to talk like that when you're out in public. There are a series of questions I have to ask every customer as I check them out at work, and if I have to say "Excuse me?" after everything they say, I feel like a moron. SPEAK UP! Some of these annoying people are men, which I wouldn't really expect. Are they too delicate to speak like a normal person? Do I intimidate people and they're afraid to speak up around me? Give me a break!

While I'm at it, how about if some of them take a shower and brush their teeth, too?

Okay, rant over. Thanks for letting me vent.

I've kept up with almost all my chores every day this week except for the one day with company. One or two days I was too busy/tired to do much, so I just counted small things. For "living room," I de-cluttered the top of the little dresser and put away the movies on the floor and called it good; for "kitchen," I just unloaded the dishwasher and loaded the few dirty dishes. There's half a sink of things to be washed, and I could stand to fold some fabric that's been laying over the back of a chair in the living room for.... er, a while, but some days I just can't do everything I'd like to. But! I'm quite pleased that I made the bed every day, even if it was an hour before we got back in it for the night. Feels good to do just that little thing every day, and it makes the whole room look spiffier despite the piles o' clothes around.

The only thing I didn't succeed in doing was to do some form of exercise twice this week. Boooo. I was planning on going on a walk at least once, and maybe digging out my old yoga book, which I used to do regularly a while back. I know I'm out of shape, and I can hardly walk fast from one end of the store to the other without getting a little out of breath, and this makes me feel a little pathetic. But I don't actually care that much. I don't care if I have muscles, and I hate running more than almost anything. But I can take walks, and I can do some simple yoga at home. I have scoliosis, and it would really be good for me to bend and stretch so my muscles, which have to support my crooked spine, get a little stronger. (My x-rays aren't as bad as the picture in that article, but before I wore a back brace for two years in high school, there was a pretty decent S-curve there.) I don't like waking up with a sore back at 22 years old, though wearing my good crocs (work, a black pair, and play, one black pair and one silver) help quite a bit.

I STILL need to devise something to put my chore cards in, and I need to do it by Monday night for writers' group, since that was one of my goals. I also need to bring in a 1,000-word excerpt of something, eep! I'll poke through the novel tomorrow after work and try to find something to take and read.

Irrational Fears

Everyone has something they're afraid of. My husband is afraid of heights, and gets visibly nervous climbing up staircases where you can see down to the bottom. He knows he won't fall, can't possibly fall, but it still freaks him out. He even gets a little squeamish when we're watching a movie and the hero is, say, on the edge of a tall building or crossing a rickety rope bridge. I don't understand it, but that's how he feels.

Me? I'm afraid of moths. Yes, moths. No, they are not just like butterflies, don't try to tell me that. Butterflies are pretty and floaty and just sort of drift around being shiny. Moths are flappy and fluttery, they run into walls, windows, light bulbs, and people. Their yucky grey wings are powdery and gross. And those great big ones, with the fuzzy antennae? *Shudder*

The little millers don't bother me too much anymore, as long as I don't think about them. But if there's ever a real moth around, I freeze, close my eyes, and hold my breath... like that's going to help, or something. I know it's totally stupid. That's why I titled this post "Irrational Fears." I know a moth cannot hurt me. They pose no threat whatsoever. But the thought of one bumping into me as it bumbles around searching for a light source just creeps me the heck out. I'll continue to hold my breath and squint my eyes as I hurry away, or struggle to get my key into the lock and get inside, away from it.

I don't really like spiders, but I don't freak out if I see one. I'll beg my husband to kill it, and if he doesn't (the big baby!) I'll get a shoe and smoosh it. I really don't like cockroaches, and I will insist upon the husband killing those. But I just get ridiculous when it comes to moths.

But if you think that's weird, look at this irrational fear.

((Little update on the organization project: I spent most of my lunch break yesterday making a list of cards to put in the "to do" pocket. I also realized that some things need to be done daily (fix dinner, make bed, etc.... yes, I do need to be that specific and micro-managerial at this point) and some need to be weekly (dust living room, sweep kitchen, etc.). I really think this will work if I can make myself stick to it. Hopefully tonight I'll get the cards written out, and then over the next day or so I'll devise some sort of cute pocket thing to hang on the wall.))

Big Rocks and Rewards

I came across this article about Big Rocks while blog-hopping a while back. Go ahead, click the link and read it, it'll only take a minute. I'll wait.

All right, you're back. Kinda cool, huh? I've been thinking about this for the last week or so. Writers' group last Monday probably got me started thinking about it, when we were discussing how to fit writing into our lives, and how much we should write, when, where, about what. At breakfast with some friends (see Thought 5), I mentioned it. And yesterday at writers' group we talked a little more about it. A friend and I decided that we work best when we can see a physical list or calendar or something, and check off our duties. The duty we were focused on at group was, of course, writing, but I personally think I would do well to put dishes, laundry, grocery shopping, etc. on that list, too. And for all the days I succeed at doing everything I need to do--my big rocks like making sure my husband and I have clean socks, writing a little something whether it's a blog post, a letter, or a chapter in my novel, and making some kind of hot meal for supper--I'll give myself a little reward.

Money is tight right now (when is it not?) so while I'd like to treat myself to an iced americano or a new book when I succeed, that's just not going to happen. So what about "free" rewards? A trip to the library to check out a book I've been wanting to read, or even letting myself read a couple more chapters in a really-super-long book that I own and love, but wouldn't usually have the time to read? I could allow myself to cut out one of the vintage dress patterns I have, or make a simple cloth shopping bag so I quit using plastic. Or half an hour of instant messenger time with friends. So it can be done.

That's my goal for this week, and I'll talk about my results at the next Monday writers' group. Maybe I'll even bring in my calendar or some kind of thing with pockets in it where I move the "duty cards" from the "to do" pocket to the "done" one. And I'll need to come up with a list of rewards I can check off, too. I'm excited about this! Carrington and Ms. Dame de Plume, good luck with your goals for the week, too!