There’s not been an Easter as far back as I can recall (and that’s pretty far back) that hasn’t offered frightening, horrible weather like we experienced in Alabama and Georgia last night. My heart goes out to all the people who lost members or their family, their friends, and their homes. It will be a long time before life returns to normal for many of our neighbors.
Instead of writing fiction today, I’m going to tell you a whole lot of truth in very few words – these people need your help.
After spending part of my career working for nonprofit organizations that assist people in need, I know firsthand how important it is to step up to the plate in times like these.
So, here’s one little thing you can do: Donate
Visit the American Red Cross website or text "REDCROSS" to 90999 to give $10.
The governor of Alabama has also set up a relief fund:
Governor's Tornado Relief Fund
Neighbor Helping Neighbor Inc.
The Tuscaloosa News
P.O. Box 20187
Tuscaloosa, Ala., 35402-0187
To assist victims residing in Northwest Georgia: American Red Cross of Northwest Georgia
Click and donate - Five, ten, twenty dollars - whatever you can manage.
If you find other ways to donate or ways to volunteer, please post them here, on Facebook, Twitter. Get the word out so we can help our neighbors in need.
Until Monday, I remain saddened by all of this devastation and willing to help.
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Wisdom Wednesday – Love…in Five Parts
It struck me this morning, as I was driving into an office I frequent and entire day-and-a-half a week, how blessed my life has been by love. Are you wondering what brought about this epiphany? Why, Lady Antebellum did. One song in particular entitled, If I Knew Then. The chorus - Cause love only comes once in awhile, Knocks on your door and throws you a smile, And takes every breath, leaves every scar, Speaks to your soul and sings to your heart, And if I knew then what I know now, I’d fall in love - touches me on the many levels of this mysterious condition that allows my heart to soar and ache all at the same time.
It’s a charming little four-letter word, isn’t it? L-O-V-E. Its definition remains so enigmatic that not one of us has yet to truly figure it out.
At its foundation, love is defined (in this case by Dictionary.com) as: a profoundly tender, passionate affection for another person. Sounds lovely, right? But love has many different levels, layers that fill a person’s pie shell with sweet, sour and savory flavors that affect how we give generous, or calorie reduced slices of love in return.
In my lifetime I have been touched by the love of my parents and family, I have fallen in love with three men who shaped me as a woman and will always hold a place in my heart, and I have experienced the enormous love between mother and daughter. Blessed I tell you, blessed!
So what is it about love, on a Wednesday, which inspires me to delve into this recipe? Pain. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t want to drag you into my current brand of crazy, but, that insanity is what is keeping me up at night forcing me to think about whether my recipe is good enough, or not.
Also, love is taboo. It’s something we choose not to jinx; talk about before its time. Unless we are closely connected to friends and family, we rarely release it from the vest. So, this is my attempt to get you to share your recipe for love. Educate me. Listen intently, I may just teach you a little something in return. Ah, the give and take of…love. See, intimacy abounds.
Here we find ourselves at the end of Love – Part I. Mise en place is complete. Now, let’s start putting the ingredients in this pie and talk about how they help us express the love we feel. Yes, feeling is scary, but you can do it. I believe in you.
Until next Wednesday and Part II, I remain Unstoppable.
It’s a charming little four-letter word, isn’t it? L-O-V-E. Its definition remains so enigmatic that not one of us has yet to truly figure it out.
At its foundation, love is defined (in this case by Dictionary.com) as: a profoundly tender, passionate affection for another person. Sounds lovely, right? But love has many different levels, layers that fill a person’s pie shell with sweet, sour and savory flavors that affect how we give generous, or calorie reduced slices of love in return.
In my lifetime I have been touched by the love of my parents and family, I have fallen in love with three men who shaped me as a woman and will always hold a place in my heart, and I have experienced the enormous love between mother and daughter. Blessed I tell you, blessed!
So what is it about love, on a Wednesday, which inspires me to delve into this recipe? Pain. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t want to drag you into my current brand of crazy, but, that insanity is what is keeping me up at night forcing me to think about whether my recipe is good enough, or not.
Also, love is taboo. It’s something we choose not to jinx; talk about before its time. Unless we are closely connected to friends and family, we rarely release it from the vest. So, this is my attempt to get you to share your recipe for love. Educate me. Listen intently, I may just teach you a little something in return. Ah, the give and take of…love. See, intimacy abounds.
Here we find ourselves at the end of Love – Part I. Mise en place is complete. Now, let’s start putting the ingredients in this pie and talk about how they help us express the love we feel. Yes, feeling is scary, but you can do it. I believe in you.
Until next Wednesday and Part II, I remain Unstoppable.
Monday, April 25, 2011
ABCs for New Writers – “H” is for Harness Creativity
It’s funny, when someone uses the term “harness” in my brain it conjures up the image of a cowboy lassoing a mighty stallion. I must have been a cow poke in a former life. I also envision “harness” as something you do to energy or atoms; capturing it in little glass jars like fireflies.
But, when I speak in terms of harnessing creativity, I am telling you to liberate it. I know it’s an antonym. Are you wondering how to do it? Well, in my case and that of a number of other writers I know, you get the opposite of BICHOK (butt in chair hands on keys) and do a little hard labor. There’s nothing like some back-breaking hard work to clear your head and get the creative juices flowing again.
Oh, so that’s too much to ask? Okay, hit a road block or writer’s block and see if you don’t change your mind. Dolly Parton has been known to fast - yes, I mean stop eating - in order to get her creativity revved up and has written entire albums full of heartfelt songs while consuming nothing but fruit juice. Who wouldn't with the promise of a cheeseburger once finished?
But, when I speak in terms of harnessing creativity, I am telling you to liberate it. I know it’s an antonym. Are you wondering how to do it? Well, in my case and that of a number of other writers I know, you get the opposite of BICHOK (butt in chair hands on keys) and do a little hard labor. There’s nothing like some back-breaking hard work to clear your head and get the creative juices flowing again.
Oh, so that’s too much to ask? Okay, hit a road block or writer’s block and see if you don’t change your mind. Dolly Parton has been known to fast - yes, I mean stop eating - in order to get her creativity revved up and has written entire albums full of heartfelt songs while consuming nothing but fruit juice. Who wouldn't with the promise of a cheeseburger once finished?
My friend and critique partner came for our weekly check-in on Friday and we talked about how good it was to step away from our respective WIPs and do a little physical work. Pam tore her house apart and painted both her son’s room and her piano studio while on spring break, and emerged with new direction and ready to get back to work on a project that had been threatening to go into the recycle bin. I have taken on a very intense gardening project that involves five raised beds, two sections of patio and surrounding flower beds. It is an undertaking but one I needed to pull me away from my recent lack of enthusiasm over my WIP.
 |
| An unstoppable garden under construction. If I stop now I have a mosh pit. |
Talk about getting derailed (March 16, 2011). It happens sometimes – life – and it takes away from everything a writer holds sacred – time, passion, fervor – all gone replaced by the burdensome weight of sadness, anger and frustration. It takes time to get creativity back on track, so liberate it in other ways and keep feeding your soul. Go fishing if you have to. Take on a new workout routine. Get physical. I promise it will make slipping off track much easier to deal with emotionally.
Tell us something about you. What kind of heavy lifting gets your mind off your troubles? Do you ever find yourself lacking enthusiasm over your WIP (whatever it may be)? How do you liberate creativity?
Until Wednesday I remain back-broken and dirty but Unstoppable.
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Truth or Fiction Thursday - Can Carpet Shampoo Do That?
Got ya wondering, didn’t I?
So, I’ve said before that I can’t be all Tony Robbins all the time and today is one of those days. So, being the domestic goddess that I am, I wanted to share with you the best product on the planet to clear away stains. Not only does it clean normal, everyday stains like coffee, wine, mud, grass (yes, I have a pretty messy family, but who doesn’t) it has even cleaned – drum roll – red fingernail polish out of beige carpet.
No. I. Am. Not. Kidding.
And, you don’t have to buy the fancy and terribly expensive vacuum cleaner for it to work (just please don’t tell the Rainbow people I said that. Yes, it is Aquamate Floor Shampoo offered by Rainbow.
You can buy it online for anywhere from $17 to $23 and it’s worth every penny.
Being a young, penny-pincher back in the day, I used to sit in the middle of my living room floor watching Chicago Hope and painting my toes. I know, I’m telling my age here, but I did say I was young then. Well, one night while getting into one of Mandy Patinkin’s many musical performances, I knocked over a bottle of red nail polish. OMG! I thought I was in for it. My husband would kill me. Okay, so I wasn’t that young.
I dashed around the house looking for anything that would take out the glaring red smudge and not bleach the carpet. And lo and behold there it was, the Aquamate Floor Shampoo in the laundry room just waiting to be challenged. I say challenged because it came with the unreasonably expensive vacuum that I got suckered into by a door-to-door salesman who managed to convince me that selling vacuums was how he was going to pay for his blind wife’s eye replacement surgery and that his products would miraculously save the dying with a tiny daub. After that night, I ran right out and had “sucker” tattooed across my forehead so others could convince me to spend an ungodly amount of money on something else I didn’t need.
Back to the story – So, I sat down in the floor with a white dish rag and this cleaning solution and went to scrubbing. At first, the spill got worse. It spread like wildfire the more I tried to scour it away, but then I think the friction I was causing changed the chemical compound from cleaner to miracle worker. The dramatic red polish spill was gone.
No. I. Am. Not. Kidding. I love making dramatic statements with periods (but only in my blog Grammar Divas).
So, am I telling you to run right out and buy this stuff? Well, I am not trying to afford my blind wife’s eye replacement surgery, however, I do highly recommend if you have kids, pets, carpet, a house with any fabric in it whatsoever, spend the dime and get the good stuff. It will last you forever and come in handy in any number of fabric emergencies.
Join the conversation. Is there a product that worked miracles you never expected?
Until Monday and the ABCs for New Writers, I remain an Unstoppable domestic goddess.
Today’s disclaimer: I do not own stock in or represent Rainbow Vacuum Cleaners or their products. I am an independent consumer with one opinion.
So, I’ve said before that I can’t be all Tony Robbins all the time and today is one of those days. So, being the domestic goddess that I am, I wanted to share with you the best product on the planet to clear away stains. Not only does it clean normal, everyday stains like coffee, wine, mud, grass (yes, I have a pretty messy family, but who doesn’t) it has even cleaned – drum roll – red fingernail polish out of beige carpet.
No. I. Am. Not. Kidding.
And, you don’t have to buy the fancy and terribly expensive vacuum cleaner for it to work (just please don’t tell the Rainbow people I said that. Yes, it is Aquamate Floor Shampoo offered by Rainbow.
You can buy it online for anywhere from $17 to $23 and it’s worth every penny.
Being a young, penny-pincher back in the day, I used to sit in the middle of my living room floor watching Chicago Hope and painting my toes. I know, I’m telling my age here, but I did say I was young then. Well, one night while getting into one of Mandy Patinkin’s many musical performances, I knocked over a bottle of red nail polish. OMG! I thought I was in for it. My husband would kill me. Okay, so I wasn’t that young.
I dashed around the house looking for anything that would take out the glaring red smudge and not bleach the carpet. And lo and behold there it was, the Aquamate Floor Shampoo in the laundry room just waiting to be challenged. I say challenged because it came with the unreasonably expensive vacuum that I got suckered into by a door-to-door salesman who managed to convince me that selling vacuums was how he was going to pay for his blind wife’s eye replacement surgery and that his products would miraculously save the dying with a tiny daub. After that night, I ran right out and had “sucker” tattooed across my forehead so others could convince me to spend an ungodly amount of money on something else I didn’t need.
Back to the story – So, I sat down in the floor with a white dish rag and this cleaning solution and went to scrubbing. At first, the spill got worse. It spread like wildfire the more I tried to scour it away, but then I think the friction I was causing changed the chemical compound from cleaner to miracle worker. The dramatic red polish spill was gone.
No. I. Am. Not. Kidding. I love making dramatic statements with periods (but only in my blog Grammar Divas).
So, am I telling you to run right out and buy this stuff? Well, I am not trying to afford my blind wife’s eye replacement surgery, however, I do highly recommend if you have kids, pets, carpet, a house with any fabric in it whatsoever, spend the dime and get the good stuff. It will last you forever and come in handy in any number of fabric emergencies.
Join the conversation. Is there a product that worked miracles you never expected?
Until Monday and the ABCs for New Writers, I remain an Unstoppable domestic goddess.
Today’s disclaimer: I do not own stock in or represent Rainbow Vacuum Cleaners or their products. I am an independent consumer with one opinion.
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Wisdom Wednesday - Where Are We Hurrying To?
The thing about the rat race is that even if you win you’re still a rat. – Lily Tomlin
There’s this wonderful little book sitting on the table next to my recliner that, when I’m a good girl, I read with zeal and put right to practice. It’s called The Power of Patience by M.J. Ryan.
The title of today’s post and what I want to share with you was inspired by the passage, Where Are We Hurrying To? By example, it begs the question, “What is so important that we would sacrifice our sanity and serenity to get to “it” or get “it” done without bothering to enjoy the journey?”
My little girl has been dealing with, next to death or serious illness, the most painful thing a kid could experience – divorcing parents – and it’s starting to wear on her. So tonight, when she got home from dinner with her father and had a meltdown because she didn’t want to take a bath without her bathing suit on (yes, Sally, I think she’s met Her Majesty), I quickly soaped her up, rinsed her off, got her dressed for bed and then laid down in the floor with her for as long as my back could stand and colored.
For a lengthy time before bed (and I even put it off a bit) I took direction from her about what color marker to use on what corner of the page. It was the most important moment of my day. Not only did I learn that Tinkerbell actually looks good as a “pink candy fairy”, I gave up my far-from-first-place position in the old rat race and patiently accepted my daughter’s need for love and attention. And, thanks to The Power of Patience I was able to give it to her.
I can’t lie to you; I personally enjoy the rat race. I find challenge exciting. But folks, I don’t want to be that rat that missed out on her baby girl growing up. So, for today, I’m happy to have left the race a little early.
Until tomorrow, I am still here, better late than never, and remain Unstoppable.
Monday, April 18, 2011
ABCs for New Writers - "G" is for Go Get 'em Tiger!
Sometimes the best thing to do is just start, right? My mom once gave me this frilly, lace-fringed magnet that read, “I’d be unstoppable if I could only get started.” There’s no doubt that even at my age getting started isn’t always that easy to do.
But more importantly, once you get started, what are you going to do with that? Let me share with you a snippet form my own life – YOU KEEP GOING!
Why, Lindy, what ever do you mean (in my best Scarlett O’Hara voice)? I mean keep putting one foot in front of the other. But, I can’t take care of all these people (in my weakest Melanie rebut). Let me tell you a little something, if you can just keep taking one more step, you can go places, feed people, live your dream.
Forgive my Scarlett and Melanie references, but Nancy Knight rubbed off on me in her Well Begun is Half Done workshop this past Saturday at our monthly Georgia Romance Writers meeting.
Don’t believe me? Well, during the very last week of February and the very first week of March, I took an InDesign (Adobe graphic design program) course with my girlfriend who needed some help with her BIG advertising client. Three days over the course of two weeks I spent learning something new and you know what, here it is mid-April and not only do I work 10-15 hours a week for that client, I work another 10 hours a week for a recently acquired client of my own. Know why? Because I let go of my fear and self-doubt and took a flying leap of a cliff.
When I went soaring off the precipice into the open air and great unknown I had no idea that I could survive. I had no clue I could be successful. But I dove knowing that if I didn’t do it I would regret it for the rest of my life.
I strive to put that philosophy into practice in everything I do, including my writing.
So, if you ever find yourself thinking that it’s just not possible, you’re not good enough, or you’re just too darn lazy, guess what, those are all pretty lame excuses! Go out there and get ‘em tiger! I know you can.
Until Wednesday, I remain aloft and Unstoppable.
But more importantly, once you get started, what are you going to do with that? Let me share with you a snippet form my own life – YOU KEEP GOING!
Why, Lindy, what ever do you mean (in my best Scarlett O’Hara voice)? I mean keep putting one foot in front of the other. But, I can’t take care of all these people (in my weakest Melanie rebut). Let me tell you a little something, if you can just keep taking one more step, you can go places, feed people, live your dream.
Forgive my Scarlett and Melanie references, but Nancy Knight rubbed off on me in her Well Begun is Half Done workshop this past Saturday at our monthly Georgia Romance Writers meeting.
Don’t believe me? Well, during the very last week of February and the very first week of March, I took an InDesign (Adobe graphic design program) course with my girlfriend who needed some help with her BIG advertising client. Three days over the course of two weeks I spent learning something new and you know what, here it is mid-April and not only do I work 10-15 hours a week for that client, I work another 10 hours a week for a recently acquired client of my own. Know why? Because I let go of my fear and self-doubt and took a flying leap of a cliff.
When I went soaring off the precipice into the open air and great unknown I had no idea that I could survive. I had no clue I could be successful. But I dove knowing that if I didn’t do it I would regret it for the rest of my life.
I strive to put that philosophy into practice in everything I do, including my writing.
So, if you ever find yourself thinking that it’s just not possible, you’re not good enough, or you’re just too darn lazy, guess what, those are all pretty lame excuses! Go out there and get ‘em tiger! I know you can.
Until Wednesday, I remain aloft and Unstoppable.
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Wisdom Wednesday - A One Minute Lesson on Taking Care of Yourself
A long, long time ago I read this book called The One Minute Manager. You might have heard of it. It was written by Ken Blanchard and Spencer Johnson. I didn’t take it seriously at first but when I got into it I discovered there was a lot of wisdom in that little book for a then aspiring manager. And many, many years later, as a manager of very different things, I still hold onto a couple of the lessons that stuck.
One being take one minute (probably less) to do something that will make you happy or in this instance, bring relief. I recall the lesson in the book being about one person’s dirty windshield and how it took less than a minute to wipe it clean with a paper towel. I often find myself sitting at a red light staring at bug guts on my windshield, so I put this into practice. Know what I found out? It truly does take less than a minute to bring great relief.
So, today I am going to challenge myself to take a minute, maybe even two, to do a little something that will make me happy. I might go and wash the yucky yellow pollen off of my car, or stop and have a cup of coffee at my favorite coffee shop, or maybe, just maybe I’ll vacuum (I can’t stand having a messy house and right now mine is making me crazy!) Okay, so these things take more than a minute, but you get my point. It doesn’t take much to make you happy, so why not get off your rear and just do it?
What if we applied this one minute principle to our writing? What if we took one minute each day to write one sentence in a minute? Could you do that? Would that sentence make sense? Could it lead you to writing another sentence tomorrow? What if we wrote one sentence today and perfected it? No, I mean really made it perfect. How long would it take us to finish a project? Good question, huh? Well, say that one perfect sentence each day inspired you to write an entire scene when you finally fell into the recliner after the dishes were clean, the kids bathed and in bed? What if that inspiration led you to stay up an hour longer to write? See, one minute can make all of the difference in the world.
How will you use your minute? What will you take a minute (more or less) to do today that will make you happy, bring you relief?
Until tomorrow, I remain Unstoppable.
One being take one minute (probably less) to do something that will make you happy or in this instance, bring relief. I recall the lesson in the book being about one person’s dirty windshield and how it took less than a minute to wipe it clean with a paper towel. I often find myself sitting at a red light staring at bug guts on my windshield, so I put this into practice. Know what I found out? It truly does take less than a minute to bring great relief.
So, today I am going to challenge myself to take a minute, maybe even two, to do a little something that will make me happy. I might go and wash the yucky yellow pollen off of my car, or stop and have a cup of coffee at my favorite coffee shop, or maybe, just maybe I’ll vacuum (I can’t stand having a messy house and right now mine is making me crazy!) Okay, so these things take more than a minute, but you get my point. It doesn’t take much to make you happy, so why not get off your rear and just do it?
What if we applied this one minute principle to our writing? What if we took one minute each day to write one sentence in a minute? Could you do that? Would that sentence make sense? Could it lead you to writing another sentence tomorrow? What if we wrote one sentence today and perfected it? No, I mean really made it perfect. How long would it take us to finish a project? Good question, huh? Well, say that one perfect sentence each day inspired you to write an entire scene when you finally fell into the recliner after the dishes were clean, the kids bathed and in bed? What if that inspiration led you to stay up an hour longer to write? See, one minute can make all of the difference in the world.
How will you use your minute? What will you take a minute (more or less) to do today that will make you happy, bring you relief?
Until tomorrow, I remain Unstoppable.
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