Yep.  This about sums it up.

Happy birthday Mom!!

Back in the saddle again

This is nothing new to you... literally.  I almost want to apologize to you in advance for two things:

1.  This is probably going to suck.
2.  I'm not exactly sure what I'm going to write about.

I have found myself researching, analyzing, and dreaming about inspiration.  I have a pinterest board for this subject and even spent an hour at work this morning trying to find it on The Pioneer Woman (she is my hero, you know).  I have finally come to the conclusion that writing takes practice (duh) and consistency (sigh).  It doesn't always have to be great, and sometimes even the bad stuff can teach you something.  The trick is to just get it out there.

My problem is now that the Pen on Fire exercises are done, I feel a little lost - like I don't know where to begin again. .

And then I found this picture.  I don't know where this will take me, and quite frankly, I don't care right now.  I just want to give all of us something to hang on to for inspiration. I know I still have something good to say... maybe, but mostly I just don't want this to end.  I need a new direction and maybe a new template.  

Maybe.  

So, stick with me, and I can assure you that there will be more consistency, but I can't promise it'll be good. I guess that will just come with the practice.  

Nike would say Just do It.  

My mom would say This too shall pass.

The skaters would say Make it happen.  

I'll just say thank you for reading :)

Friday Reads

Happy Friday All!

I am seriously looking forward to the day when Friday really means Friday to me.  Sigh...  But until that day I'll just keep reading.

Every now and again, a book will come along that will take ahold of you and never let go, and I call it Crack Lit.  This book is crack lit just like Twilight was, and pretty much for the same reasons:  a Vampire and forbidden love.

A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness is actually a cross between Twilight and Harry Potter, and will suck you in just like those books did.  There's vampires, witches, and magic thrown in with a mysterious long-lost book.  It's not a quick read with it's 579 pages, but I will guarantee that you'll love it too.  I have found it to be smarter than Twilight (it's not written as a YA novel) but there are definite similarities between the books.

If you are going on Spring Break soon (hint, hint) this is one that will keep you hooked while sitting on a beach.  I almost wish I had waited, but I guess I'll just have to find others to read.
20 Days!

Do One Thing

So it's the beginning of Lent, and so many people are talking about what they're giving up.  Yes, I am doing the usual of giving up take out lunch, forcing myself to make one or starve, but I'm also giving up baking.  While some of you might not think that is really something to give up, I assure you, it is.

A big something.

But at work today I also started to think about life (as usual) and how I'd really like to inch towards my dream just a little bit more each day and I thought of something.  Do One Thing... D.O.T.

Do one thing each and every day of Lent that is just for you.  I had thought about the whole 29 gifts thing and maybe doing something for others each day, but the majority of us are so self-deprived of anything we want I quickly dismissed that idea.  We give and give and give so much of ourselves to everyone around us, and rarely have the time or energy to do anything for our own benefit.

When was the last time you stopped everything so you could work out?  Or read a good book?  Or make a new playlist?

You get my drift.

Every inch of our time is divided between our kids, our spouses, and our work.  It's no wonder we're exhausted!  When we do have time, all we really have the energy for, mental or physical, is mindless TV.  Do we really need to watch the Bachelor pick Courtney every freaking week?  That's two hours every Monday I'm never getting back!

I am learning lately that life is too short and there are no guarantees.  No free passes.  You either live your life or you don't.  You're either happy or you're going through the motions.  I just want to stop settling and start creating the life I want.  So do one thing is about taking a little time that doesn't involve watching TV.  You know there is something you want to do and you just haven't.  Now is the time, and I'm hoping that by the time Lent is over, we'll be so used to it and happy we'll never stop.

As the skaters would say, make it happen.

And we all know that ones we hate always make it to the final rose ceremony, so save yourself for the next two Mondays and make them Courtney-free.  You'll be much happier :)

Read This!

Okay, I'm not a book critic by any means.  In fact I could never be one because I never take the time to finish a book I don't love.

LTS # 10:  Life's too short to read a bad book.

So, when I get a book that I can't put down, I literally want to tell everyone about it so they can get that same feeling I have right now.  I know that everyone doesn't always have the same reaction as I do, but for the most part, the books I love are the ones that will make you think about your own life.

So my latest Read This book is What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty, an Australian author that I've read before.  One thing you'll get with her books is a quirky mix plot lines, characters, and problems.  Sometimes it's choppy, but the end, I get it.  I understand why she writes and edits the way she does.  It's all for the reader's experience of the story, and reads somewhat like a movie.

The gist of the story line is about a 39 year-old woman who hits her head during a spinning class.  When she comes to, she cannot remember the last ten years of her life.  She believes she is 29 and pregnant with her first child.  Needless to say, a lot can happen in ten years, and she is shocked to find out what kind of person she has turned out to be.  Her marriage is failing, her friends are vicious, and her kids can't seem to stand her.

To get any more you'll have to read the book.  What I found myself doing though is looking back ten years ago in my own life and seeing how I was different, and ultimately how different our marriage was.  There are so many factors that go into a marriage that change who used to be.

Kids
Money or lack thereof
Work
Family
Friends
Death
Dreams

All of it is one thing at the beginning of a marriage and completely different ten years later.  To weather the storms of life you must be able to continue seeing the good in everyone around you.  To just see what's wrong is misery for everyone involved.

I hope you read this book.  I know it'll change the way you see your own life.

Have a fabulous week!

one for the money

 So my favorite series of ALL TIME, has broke into the movie industry.  Now, I had boycotted this movie because the characters I had seen in the previews didn't fit what I had grown to know and love in my head.  I mean after 18 books, I think my mental image is pretty set.  So, when my husband and I both had the day off today (stop laughing) we decided to go to the movies. 

Wouldn't you know it, there is nothing out right now.  Of course, we still went because by now we were both dreaming of a popcorn lunch, and of course, I dragged him to One For The Money.  I don't think he suffered too much since Katherine Heigle  is his movie crush, and honestly I really don't blame him.  I think I might have a crush on her :)

But, I really wish they would stop trying to make movies out of really popular books.  It just doesn't work, and I'm tired of wasting money trying to relive the feeling I had in the book.  Popcorn is good, but not that good.   

Here are my reasons why they should stop profiting off the books:

1.  There is no-how, no-way, you will ever capture the detail (the sounds, the smells, the viewpoint) that a book can deliver.  A movie is simply an imitation, like I Can't Believe It's Not Butter.  It's just not the same.

2.  When you take a book as popular as this one, you have to know millions of people have read them, adored them, and mentally pictured these characters for years.  Dying Katherine's hair brown and giving her an accent will not make her Stephanie Plum.  Ever.  And then there's Edward and Bella.  They really should've just let a good book be a good book in that case.

3.  In some movies, the characters are better than we imagined (think of any Nicholas Sparks movie), but then they'll do something like change the ending.  Why would you do that?  Don't change the book because you think it'll be a better movie ending.  It won't.

Now, don't get me wrong.  Not all movies from books are bad.  I adore the Harry Potter movies, including the characters.  I'm not sure how they did it, but the casting director for the first movie was spot on with each of them.  Perfection.  A Field of Dreams was also a book, although I never read that.  Maybe if I did I wouldn't like the movie so much.  

Charlie St. Cloud

The Notebook

Eat, Pray, Love (I know this one is debatable, but I'll stand by it).  

See?  Not all of them are sinkers, but for the most part, I am becoming a bit skeptical in the whole book to movie genre.  

What about you?  Are there any you particularly love or hate?

Enjoy your evening :)

Sacrifice

 Set your timer:  For the next 15 minutes create 2 characters:  one who enjoys her life and one who doesn't; one who pursues goals and one who doesn't.  Seat them at a dinner party and let them have a conversation.
As I sat at the table clutching my name card, I realized that I was holding my breath.  Bruno Mars was singing in the background, and there were flowers and candles everywhere.  In the last two weeks, since I had won this ticket, I had imagined a thousand different scenarios, but those weren't even close.  "Honey, somewhere along the path you stopped dreaming," my friend Jenny told me last week when I was complaining about coming here alone.  "Just go and take it all in," she had said.  Easy for her to say.
"You must be Bethany," she said, sitting down next to me.  I blinked, twice, as I sat there staring at Barbara DeMarco-Barrett.  She was even prettier in person.
"Um, yes," I said, straightening out my name card and setting on the table.  "I won this ticket a few weeks ago."
"Well, it's nice to meet you," she said as if she meant it.  "Are you a writer?"
"It's always been a dream of mine, but no, at this point, I can't say that I am."  I wondered if I sounded as pathetic as I felt.  "I've read your book twice, and just haven't sat down to figure out what I have to say."
She laughed, "But that's the whole point of the book!  You only have to find fifteen minutes to say something, anything."  She looked around to make sure no one was listening to us.  "If I'm going to be honest, I'm one of those people who procrastinates till the last minute, but once I get started I find it's much easier.  That first step is a doozie."
I relaxed a bit in her honesty.  She was just a regular person.  "But what if I find out that what I have to say isn't anything special.  This way, by not committing to anything, I can hold onto my dream."
She was shaking her head and smiling, "But what's the point in dreaming if you're not going to do anything about it?  Following our dreams is what life is about, otherwise you're just wasting time being untrue to yourself."  She took a drink of her wine, " Is that what you want for yourself?"
"No," I said.  "But it's not that easy.  I don't have anywhere to start."  I knew these were all excuses, but this conversation wasn't going as I had planned, and I wasn't prepared to hear these cold, hard facts.
"You just said you've read my book twice!  You do realize those exercises were specifically for writers like you, who are confused on where to start and need to find their voice."
I knew what she was saying made sense, but a part of me wanted to just hide at this point.  She watched me carefully.
"I'll make you a deal," she said.  "I'm starting a new workshop next month, and I want to personally invite you to join.  If after that you still can't find the time to write, then you'll find a new dream.  A writer without a project is like a salesman without a product.  It's just not going to work."
I nodded, knowing what she said was perfectly true.  "Okay, I'll do it," I said.  I took a sip of my own wine and smiled.  I was going to do a Writer's Workshop!
She patted my hand, "Like I said, that first step is a doozie, but the results will be so worth it.  I promise."
As if on cue, a speaker at the front of the room asked everyone to sit down at their tables so we could begin dinner.  "If you'll excuse me, I'm expected to speak before dinner is served," she said, squeezing my hand before getting up.
She stood at the podium, and winked at me before she started.  She proceeded to speak with clarity about the joy and torture of following your dreams every day of your life.  It's as if she had planned to the speech specifically for me, and half-way through I started to believe it was possible.
At least I knew that it was going to be worth trying.  And if I failed, I would have the ability to keep trying till I found something that worked for me.
So, thank you Barbara.  This book is a treasure, and even though this meeting only happened in my head, I still believe you have changed my life through your words.
Now it's my turn.