Could It Be?

I just erased a blog post so boring it actually hurt.

Here it is, Reader's Digest version.

1. Kids are sick with two colds and one bladder infection. I'm coming down with aforementioned cold. Bladder is fine, thanks.

2. Roofing guy assures me that as soon as it stops motherfucking raining, he'll be buy to slap a roof on the dump.

3. It has stopped motherfucking raining for the moment, but thunderstorms and spot showers appear to be in the forecast for the next five days. Still, some sun is better than none.

That was much more efficient.

Okay onto the fun stuff.

I like to write, and sometimes I manage to come up with something other than a blog post so boring it makes the angel's weep. My problem with creative writing is that I never know what to write about. Well, did you know that if you Google "writing prompts" you will get just that? Seriously, it's true!

I entered a writing contest last month, squeaking in just by the deadline. The top prize is 500 UK pounds, which is a bit more than 800 bucks. A nice chunk of change, if I win. If not, it's nice to be writing stuff again.

So this cool writing prompt site I found, you roll your cursor over the numbers and a wee blurb pops up to tell you what to write. I closed my eyes, rolled my cursor and where it landed, that's my prompt.

My current assignment is "Write about the metaphor 'a plate of fear'."

Story in progress.

Anyway, while I was looking for writing prompts, I found this really cool thing called Wordle.

Here's what you do. Find something you've written, or someone else has written. Cut and paste the text into the Wordle box and hit "go". It makes this really cool collage of the words in the story, or paragraph, or chapter, or poem, or whatever you've cut and pasted. The more often a word is used, the bigger the word. The less it's used the smaller. And you can pick the font, the colors, the layout, all that stuff.

It's supposed to be a tool for writers to see how often they use certain words in their writing, but I think it just makes really cool collages.

Here's one I did:

Happy Birthday, America!

You Know I'd Rather Walk a Mile on My Tongue than Complain

It's been raining for almost an entire month.

Today it's POURING.

I can only hope for some localized flooding to make the damn rain interesting. The kids are sick of being inside. Hell, even I'm sick of being inside, and let's face it: I'm an indoor kind of gal.

I actually find myself wanting to go for a walk in the sunshine. (Quick, someone feel my forehead!)

Nothing dries. I'm starting to smell mildew. I'm scared for the tomatoes (though they look to be doing just splendidly.)

Until I've got enough sun on me to feel human again, enjoy this view of the lush tropical rainforest I'm growing.Doo doo doo, looking out my back window.

Glory Days

I like these kinds of things.

It's odd, I know, but one of my favorite things to do is filling out forms. I like doing my taxes, even.

I like to read these because it gives me an idea of what someone is like. I like reading answers to questions I would have never thought to ask. In turn, for the most part I enjoy thinking about the questions and formulating my answers. It's theraputic, in a way.

This one is again lifted from CBear who is currently on blogging hiatus as she moves!

IN YOUR SENIOR YEAR OF HIGH SCHOOL...
1. Did you date someone from your school? Yes, yes I did. Do I wish now that I'd dated more people from my school. Not to slight the guy I dated in the least, but yes, yes I do.

2. Did you car pool to school? No, but my boyfriend gave me a ride every day, even though I lived within walking distance of the school.

3. What kind of car did you have? I didn't get a car of my own until after college. Aunt Elaine bought me a 1978 Cadillac Coupe de Ville. It was AWESOME.

4. What kind of car do you have now? 1998 Toyota Camry. Got it used and it's been worth every penny. I'd own another one in a heartbeat.

5. Its Sunday night...where are you now? At home. The kids are usually in bed by 8, so someone has to be here!

6. It is Sunday night...where were you then? Definitely not out. School night. I was probably on the phone.

7. What kind of job did you have in high school? I worked during the summers for the town's Park and Rec program, then the next year I worked for the Belmont Village Store. I worked into the school year until it was too much to juggle work, school, clubs, sports, and a boyfriend.

8. What kind of job do you do now? I am a Personality Development Specialist. (I'm a stay-at-home mom to three.)

9. Were you a party animal? Yes, on occasion.

10. Were you considered a flirt? I don't really know. I think I probably was and still am, but I don't know what impression others got, or get.

11. Were you in band, orchestra, or choir? No. I didn't play an instrument and I didn't join choir until college.

12. Were you a nerd? No. But I've always had underlying nerdy tendencies. I try to keep them in check. I was probably more one of the cool kids.

13. Did you get suspended or expelled? Heavens, no. I had perfect attendance in high school. I didn't miss a day because I liked to be in on everything and anything.

14. Can you sing the fight song? We didn't have one. Rest assured if we had, I would still know it. We had a school song in college...Salve Regina. In Latin. Chanted. Seriously. And yes, I can stilll chant it.

15. Who was your favorite teacher? I don't know as I had one favorite. I liked (and still like) a lot of them for different reasons. Some teachers had a teaching style that helped me learn really well--Mrs. K and Mrs. D come to mind for that. Some pushed me to do more than I wanted to, which was good for me and rewarding in the end--Mr. L. Some were fun people and taught fun classes--Mme. P. Some I appreciated then (as now) for treating me as an adult and giving me responsibilities beyond what was expected--Mrs. A and Mrs. R come to mind. Some I admire simply for their level of dedication to the students and the school, like Mrs. B and Coach B.

16. Where did you sit during lunch? In the lunchroom. I seem to remember sitting at the table directly under the big calendar in the cafeteria, but I know we didn't hold to one specific place.

17. What was your school's full name? Belmont High School.

18. When did you graduate? 1987

19. What was your school mascot? Red Raiders.

20. If you could go back and do it again, would you? I don't know. Not to do it all over again, but maybe, if I could know then what I know now, I might go back for an extended visit.

21. Did you have fun at Prom? Yes, I did.

22. Do you still talk to the person you went to Prom with? On occasion. We are both part of the same circle of friends, but we don't seek out each other's company if the gang isn't all together. Some of that circle I talk to all the time.

23. Are you planning on going to your next reunion? Abso-friggin-loutly. Our 20th reunion was so much fun that quite a few of us get together as a group on a regular basis. A lot of us still live locally, we have kids in the same schools we attended, and we still have a lot in common. So it's logical for me. And I like the men and women they've become, not just holding onto the boys and girls they were, you know?

24. Do you still talk to people from school? Oh yes. And not just from my class, either. Two of my best friends are from my sister's class. I'd say I'm in regular contact with about 20 people from HS, all grades and teachers included. Casual contact...probably double that, maybe even more.

25. School Colors? Red and white. GO BIG RED!

26. What celebrities came from your high school? None.

27. Did you play a sport? No, but I was the volleyball manager for four years, and I managed boys' varsity basketball junior and senior year. It was a great position for someone who liked sports but sucked at them all equally. And it was fun to be part of the team, but closer to the coaches than the players. I got a unique perspective, I think.

28. What was your favorite club? I loved being Yearbook editor and working on the newspaper. I still love to write and edit, and I have an eye for layout.

29. What class or teacher did you fear? I never feared a teacher or a class, but I hated Physics and Calculus. All math, for that matter, and the only science I ever liked was Chemistry. And there were teachers I didn't like because I felt they were ineffective and I learned little, and felt they didn't really care that I learned little.

30. What class was your favorite? I always loved English classes. French was fun, too. But I also really enjoyed any business classes I took with Mrs. A. I would say of all the stuff I learned in HS, typing is the one thing I use every single day.

That's all from me. I don't know what it reveals about me, though. I'll leave that up to you to decide.

If you want to relive a glorious youth, or share why your senior year sucked and sucked hard, I'd love to hear. Leave a comment and let me know if you decide to share!

Tito, Get Me a Tissue

It's been a rather sad week, I think.

For all the scandals and circuses, the musical icon of my generation is gone. Like Elvis, like the Beatles, love him or hate him, Michael Jackson changed music forever. I feel lucky to have been witness to it.

I saw this the other morning on Good Morning America and cried. I think the reason it gets me is the song is from when he was a just a boy singer and not the King of Pop. Most of the pictures they show are of him performing and there's such joy in them--not the creepy mugshots or the paparazzi pictures. I'm sad for his kids, and for his mom.

Anyway, for Michael Jackson fans, I hope you enjoy this as much as I did.



Last night, however, I caught part of the documentary special about Farrah Fawcett's fight with cancer. I didn't watch it all because, quite frankly, it was too hard. I think it was hard to watch because throughout it all she was so brave and honest about her feelings, her struggles and her pain. You had to admire her great strength of spirit, and her great faith. And despite the ups and downs she and Ryan O'Neal have had, it was obvious how deeply they loved each other and how desperately they clung together through all of it. I'm sad for him.

But while I admire and respect the woman she became, it was hard not love her for the sassy young thing she was.

So for Angel fans everywhere...lest we forget.
Been a lot of death this week, I'll tell you what.

I was at a funeral this morning too for a dear old lady from our parish. I hope someday to be a dear old lady, though I think I'll probably be more of a spunky old gal. Here's hoping I get more years on earth than Michael and Farrah did. Perhaps my star will burn longer since it doesn't burn quite as brightly.

It's Hard Out Here

Just pimpin' today, folks!

Pop on over to my friend Mike's etsy shop and make some of his lovely photography yours.

How I envy people who can take nice pictures. My skills have improved with the acquisition of a new camera, but I can't ever seem to get what I see in front of me to translate to print.

Mike, on the other hand, finds simple beauty in everyday objects. I'd post some of the pictures here, but I don't know how to add a watermark so that no one can use them elsewhere without his permission. So you'll have to link, and I think you should.

In other news, I notice someone finally punched Perez Hilton in the face. I'm not an advocate of violence or anything, but I kind of felt this was a long time in coming...

Just a Little Off the Top, Please

Big Dave got his first haircut today, courtesy of Mama. He was a bit shaggy in the front, there.

He liked it okay, except for the bits of fine baby hair that stick to everything and make your face tickle. But it's cool, because Mama will blow in your face and get them off, and even though she has nasty coffee breath, it's pretty fun.

Grandpa still thinks it's parted the wrong way, but I have to go with the cowlicks, not agin' 'em. I didn't touch the back because those are his sweet baby curlies and I love to nestle my face in them and kiss them. I'm just not ready to let them all go.

The best part about his hair is that it's a very light strawberry blonde. In the sun there's a lot of it, but it gives it a lovely golden glow that his sisters' didn't have.

I feel bad that the girls never really got "first haircuts". Just bangs trimmed or ends for a long time, and when they did finally get a bunch chopped off, it was by no means their first time in the hairdresser's chair.

So he's slowly--or quickly, depending on how you look at it--growing out of babyhood. He's crawling, standing, drinking regular milk and eating regular food just like a big boy. He'll be walking before much longer and probably weaned completely from his bottle by the end of summer, provided he decides he likes the sippy cup.

He was just a wee baby, wasn't he?

A-Muse-Ing

Inspiration!

A while back I sent Yorkie a little felt bag I made. No reason, just because she's her and thought she might be cheered by some mail. Who doesn't like getting mail they didn't expect, right?

She said the other day that she used the bag with it's hanging wrist strap as a camera case.

Just that very day I was at the Staples looking at their selection of camera cases and not being happy with the ones I saw.

Why did it never occur to me before to make a felted one? Huh? Answer me that!

So, inspired by a most amusing muse, I knit, felted, and embroidered myself a camera case for the Canon. And I quite like it. It was such a good idea I can't believe I didn't think of it earlier.

It has room enough for some spare batteries, a place for the camera strap to hang out (so I didn't have to sew one one) and a ceramic sheep button embellishment.

I'm pleased.

I also listed a couple more pair of slippers in the etsy shop. The teal pair has the cutest pair of ceramic bat buttons and a big grey moon with little bats in the background.

The red pair is simple with a fancy-schmancy gold-embroidered ribbon.

I've got another brown pair on the needles and that after that...I don't know. Nothing in the queue at the moment!

I'm going to go have a cold drink now and wait for the muse to strike again.