Feb 21, 2012
You’re reading this on Tuesday. I’m writing this on Monday. And I’d love to wait until Tuesday to enjoy it with you, but I have to write in advance so it will post on time. Rest assured, my excitement in writing will only be amplified once these words become reality.
*Insert blissful sigh here…*
Today (your Today, Tuesday; not my today, Monday)… Today I’m getting an early (seriously early) birthday gift. Last year I bought my daughter a mighty fine camera as she aspires to study art and photography. And, as you’ve occasionally witnessed, she has a mighty fine eye for such things. And on the few opportunities I’ve had to use her camera, so do I.
I love this camera. I want this camera. I’m getting this camera. Okay, not hers. She’s keeping hers. I’m getting another one just like it. There’s a method to this madness: she is a natural photographer. I am not. Not. So, after 15 minutes of me trying to figure something out; I won’t have that urge to create an opening in the window or wall. I’ll just ask her for help. Dot’s Tutorials, at your service.
She’s looking forward to it, too. I told her that we can start going on photography expeditions together. You would think there isn’t much opportunity for that here in the desert…
But even a tumbleweed can look good if the camera is right. Dot’s also teaching me the beauty of microphotography: taking really upclose, detailed photos.
All this excites me. A new toy. A new activity on the Mommy-Daughter Date Options List. And new photos for my blog. For my company.
How. Awesome. Will. This. Be.
I can’t wait to take photos of the Coopers. Not to be a broken record, but Old Blue was around again! This time he surprised me. I took the garbage out and when I turned to go back into the house, he was sitting on the fence just watching me. It was great. I didn’t get Dot’s camera in time, but in the next few days I’ll have my own and you’ll have those photos you’ve been asking for. *Insert mutual smiley face here, right?!*
Tomorrow (my tomorrow, your today) should also bring a book I’ve long been waiting for. When I was in grade school, I always defaulted to borrowing this book from both the school and local libraries. I must have read it a hundred times over the course of four years. Since I grew up, I’ve been trying to find it again, but it’s no longer in print.
Enter Amazon. Amazing, Available, Amazon.
And tomorrow/today, I should finally once again be able to read this:
Since I had a small credit at Amazon, the book was free! And since I’ve kept up with my 2012 Reading List, I get a “freebie” read for February. I choose this one. It will take just one day. 24 wonderfully short, attention-grabbing mysteries steeped in the history of our country. And of course, it also means another Mojo Book Review. Can’t wait, can ya?
Today (my today, your yesterday) I’m trying my hand at making chocolate molds. That is, melting chocolates and pouring them into molds. I also want to make ganache and use it for truffles. I’m doing this for a variety of reasons. I have a cake decorating kit I bought last summer but have only used twice. I have melting chocolates that need melting. And I think nothing goes better on blogs than photographs of chocolate. Especially when the treats are homemade.
So starting tomorrow, er… today, I can start taking awesome photos of any and all kitchen creations.
I’m so stinkin’ excited.
Last night, or long ago and far away, I had no idea what I’d be blogging about this week. Now I have too many topics to keep track of. What a difference a day makes.
And Frankly, My Dear… that’s all she wrote!
Feb 20, 2012
Someone I know has a birthday today!
You’re a Pisces. That means you think a lot, you remember tons, and you have high ideals. You’re extremely imaginative and creative.You’re devoted to any- and every-thing that really gets your attention, particularly people and projects. You trust your gut, and it rarely fails you.
And you’re not alone. Do you know who else is celebrating a birthday today?
Ansel Adams, the photographer.
Patty Hearst.
Sidney Poitier.
And a bunch of other people you prob’ly don’t care about.
But these were worth mentioning.
You introduced me to Hoops & Yo-yo. Computers. Apple computers. Apple anything.
You’re supportive, smart, and sensitive.
And so I say to you, Happy Birthday. And many, many, many happy and healthy more.
And Frankly, My Dear… that’s all she wrote!
Feb 20, 2012
I had writer’s block for today and I when I asked Dot what I should write about, she said, “The Eyes of a Cat” and offered up this little prose:
“Piercing yet Pretty
Gold or brown
Blue or green
or black
A glass sphere
protecting the canvas
of those speckled eyes
Each unique
Like a fingerprint.”
And Frankly, My Dear… that’s all she wrote!
Feb 19, 2012
This is sort of another stream-of-consciousness posting, but not really.
There’s been so much going on this weekend that I can’t just settle my thoughts onto only one theme, so you get them all. Lucky readers!
First, I want to remind each of you that there’s still time to enter the Cookbook Giveaway. The cookbook is still in pre-production, but don’t let that fool ya. Barring any more complications, it should be available within the next few weeks. So stay tuned!
I spent Friday and Saturday at home alone for the most part. Dot was on a field trip of sorts. We cleaned the house the day before she left, but of course with five cats there’s dusty little pawprints everywhere and it’s driving me crazy. They’re indoor cats, but because I have dirt lots for the front and back yards, and the winds have been blowing, there are dusty little pawprints. Everywhere. And it’s. driving. me. crazy.
Old Blue has been coming back on a regular schedule. This is the only photo I have so far. I took it from my cell phone yesterday morning. He arrives for breakfast in the morning between 6:30 and 7 a.m. Sometimes he comes for brunch around 10:30. But he always returns for dinner between 3:30 and 4 pm. It surprises me that I keep getting surprised at my excitement. I think to myself that I should be almost complacent by now: it’s obvious this beautiful Cooper’s Hawk loves my yard. So I shouldn’t be surprised to see him glide into the tree. But each time, it takes my breath away. And then I annoy him by trying to “sneak” outside with my camera. I guess that interferes with his feeding. So tomorrow I’m going to just stay inside and let him linger around the feeders.
I finished my first official freelance writing assignment today, and it felt GREAT. What I loved most about doing it, was verifying my information online through several sources. I love knowing that I do a good job, when I do a job. It’s very affirming of the fact that New Inklings Press is what I’m supposed to be doing. And I love it. Even more than I thought I would. I don’t know why I resisted for so long, but I’m so thankful God kept pushing me in this direction.
And this freelance assignment came later on a day when I had turned down another one. I chose to trust God to provide as I clung to my Good Name instead. I can’t bring myself to earn a paycheck from people who don’t care. Where my by-line is insignificant. Where the work is sloppy and unprofessional or worse. I also recently turned down an interview with a disreputable company only to be blessed that same day with the funds I need to get through the rest of this month and take care of the final start-up expenses for the company! God works in mysterious ways…
I tried to catch up on my fellow bloggers’ sites by reading lots of posts and leaving comments. I don’t like to let it stockpile on me like that. Sometimes I can go a week without reading other blogs, and that means a week’s worth of reading and commenting on each one. It’s a little time consuming, but also inspiring.
Two worth mentioning are Ann’s Doodles and Jots. Ann is extremely creative with her drawings, photography, and words. I really look forward to her postings.
Another is Ariel’s From My Heart 2 Urs. Here’s another woman trying to navigate Christianity, singleness, and a writing career. She’s always so encouraging and uplifting. I’m glad I call her Friend!
So while Dot was gone, you can see I got a lot done. It was also a happily productive weekend because I’ve had this stupid virus for over a week now and it’s turned from a dry cough into a congestive cough. The fact that I got anything done, and made it through both days without a daytime nap, makes me feel like I accomplished a lot.
My Lizzie Cat loves it though because I reek of Vapo-Rub when I go to bed at night and that’s her favorite scent ever. Anything with a menthol fragrance, and she’s on it! Needless to say, the cat cuddles this past week have been more than usual and I’m totally okay with that!
Dot’s trip turned out fun. Her school drama club went to a college’s Shakespeare Festival. They learned how to project their voices with less straining, how to fight with swords (thankfully not real ones!), and they even had performances to do.
When she came home, she started telling me about it, and I realized I kept glancing at my laptop. I figured she deserved better so I closed it and gave her my complete attention. That’s not easy for me to do, as I’m such a multi-tasker and always online or working on a writing project or both. So for me to turn off the computer and the TV and give her my complete attention… it was different.
And I’m really glad I did. Because I learned that she needs to be listened to. Even if she’s telling me things I already know. Even if I’ve heard her stories before. Even if what she’s saying doesn’t always interest me. She deserves my full attention. And I almost missed that.
So while she learned Shakespearean techniques, I learned not to multi-task. I call that a Win-Win Weekend.
And Frankly, My Dear… that’s all she wrote!
Feb 18, 2012
I have admittedly held back from giving myself over to my best writings. Some themes, like a good shoot-’em-up cop drama or a Stephen King-esque, while I enjoy reading and watching, are not something I want to really wrap my head around. I can’t bring myself to allow myself to get that deep into such a mindset so as to write an acclaimed novel. I don’t want to know the inner thinkings of a serial killer or even a regular thief. I don’t want mystical dark details in my head. Not as a rule of thumb.
Writing for God means everything should be lollipops and gumdrops and puppy dog tails. Right? I don’t want to be typecast as a horror-writer. Or worse, a mediocre writer.
And so I’ve resisted writing some stories that rest in the back of my mind.
Until this week. This week I recognized that I was copping out. Using the fear of the unknown to keep me from writing some really great stories that are festering and boiling forth from the back of my mind.
But now I have no excuse.
I believed in myself enough to form my own company. Why not believe I can do what I formed the company to enable me to do?
And in the deep recesses of my subconscious, fighting for recognition, is that collective sigh that says
Finally.
and
Thank you.
So. Hi Ho. Hi Ho… you know the rest.
And Frankly, My Dear… that’s all she wrote!
