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 |  A place for me to write about life and the happenings in my little corner of the world. |
| Shhh....I'm blogging! |
| Okay, I figure with the new year and a new challenge goal of writing 1000 words every day, I'm going to do my best to get back into blogging. So from the "Welcome To My Reality Forum"  [E] forum, here are my prompts for January 1, 20161. How do you feel about getting older? Does it frighten you? Please you? Is there anything in particular that concerns you or that you look forward to? Honestly, I'd love to say that I'm excited about getting older and that I love each age I am at, but as I reach the point in life where I'm closer to 40 than 30, this really isn't the case. It's a bit frightening to think of growing old and reaching that stage in my life where I'm confronted with death. In my 20s, I could live fully in the delusion that I was young and would live forever. From 30-35, I still stayed comfortably in that place. I wasn't old. I was 35 and under. A baby really. And now I'm 36, which I do realize is still pretty young, but as I said before, much closer to 40 than 30. In all honesty, I think it's the fact that I've not accomplished my dreams that makes me so afraid of growing old. There is definitely a fear within me that I will die without ever having done anything meaningful or accomplishing anything in my life. Right now (and for the past 11 years) I'm a stay at home, homeschooling mom, but that's not all I want to be. I want so much more from myself and my life. And so, yes, the idea of getting older and never being anything more than a stay at home mom frightens me. 2. What sort of background noise do you like to have when you're writing? What about when you're reading, relaxing or sleeping? When I'm writing, I tend to have classical music playing. Words while writing my words are distracting. But I can't seem to go with no noise at all. The classical seems to stimulate my brain and help the words to come out. It was something my 8th grade English teacher started. We did a lot of writing during class and she would play classical music. It was impressive to me how much my brain would wake up and the words would come out. It's been a habit that has stuck with me throughout the decades. When I'm reading, however, I need silence. Background noise tends to pull me from what I'm concentrating on, and I end up reading the same paragraph multiple times. Sleeping, I've found that silence and a dark room work the best. If I have a radio or a television on, I'm listening to what is happening on there and not sleeping. However, when I'm folding laundry, washing dishes, or doing other menial tasks I like to listen to either podcasts or audiobooks. I find the words here help to distract me from the boring jobs that my hands are occupying. It's a great way to fit in some additional "reading" time. While working out is another time I enjoy either music or audiobooks. The words and the rhythms are distracting enough that I tend to stick longer with my workout instead of finding something better to occupy my brain. |
| Prompt: Do you think a real estate agent or seller should have to inform potential buyers of any deaths or tragedies in the house? Why or why not? To be honest, I'm not so sure. I think there comes a point where home buyers need to take on their own responsibility for what they're purchasing. A home is a pretty big purchase, so of course a person would want to know everything possible about the place she is committing to live in for the next thirty years of her life. However, I think it's probably more important to know whether the basement is prone to flooding, if there are bats that nest in the attic, or if the foundation has cracked than if a tragedy happened inside the house. Having said that, I am not even sure if I would want to know if something tragic happened in my house. Someone dying, fine, that happens a lot in houses and most of the time of natural causes. But a tragedy can leave a real imprint on a place. So part of me would want to know in order to prepare for the negative energy that is likely to still be lurking. The other part likes the ignorant bliss of believing that everything is sunshine and sparkles. Of course, if something tragic did happen in your house, it won't be long after purchase when you find out. Neighbors love to gossip or avoid. I mean, look at every horror film where the house is bad and the new family moves in. They get all kinds of strange stares from the people in their neighborhood and then the house goes crazy on them. So, rule number one of new house buying, if after you've moved in, your neighbors look at you strangely, get out of that house! Who says that horror movies are gratuitous and can teach us nothing? |
| "No one can tell what goes on in between the person you were and the person you become. No one can chart that blue and lonely section of hell. There are no maps of the change. You just come out the other side. Or you don't.” ~ Stephen King Do you agree or disagree? Give us an example of that blue and lonely section... Can we really tell when a person has changed? Paul and I are not the same people we were even ten years ago. We've grown and we've shifted. We stay in touch with each other, so we seem to have shifted together. Although, there are times where I think we're further apart than ever. He seems to be on a ship sailing far off into the land of opportunity while I'm stuck on shore with the kids. He comes back to check in with us, but while he's on those voyages, it's a bit of a lonely existence. So lonely that I'll often create imaginary friends and romances to occupy myself. But I'm not sure I could ever pinpoint the time where he shifted. Or where I've shifted either. Facebook is amazing in its ability to allow people to reconnect with those with whom we have lost touch. However, I notice that I interact very little with the people who knew me before I was me. I feel like they don't know me as I am today. Instead, they knew a girl who no longer exists. But then again, maybe she does exist and she's just grown up. We haven't grown together, so we're at different points. I believe that our transformation happens fully out in the public eye. We grow and we learn and we evolve right in front of anyone who wishes to look. The problem, and the reason so many are shocked by the change, is that no one is really looking. We tend to see what we want to see in other people. And we are all very good at holding onto our illusions. That is, until the other person stands up for what they want and we tell them that they have changed. Or we'll notice differences in them. They often seem small at first; a new haircut or some new mannerism. But then, one day, we look and realize that the person before us has grown into a stranger while we weren't looking. I don't think this is isolated to us looking at other people, either. I think more often it happens to us about ourselves. Often we're so busy focusing on the daily happenings of our lives that we don't focus on how we react to them. We don't see the way we change until we're put up against those we knew way back when. Perhaps this is the blue hell to which King refers. Perhaps it is the place where we are so focused on living our lives that we fail to notice how our life has changed us. And in this, I think he is right. I don't think it's possible to describe this place other than to say that it is the place of our life. It is the daily happenings. It is the trials that we endure and the joy we receive. The blue hell is our life and it happens with or without our consent. |
| Prompt: Have you ever lived in a haunted house? Do you even believe in that sort of thing? Yes to both questions. I have lived in quite a few places where I've had paranormal experiences. And I was fortunate enough to attend Ohio University which is listed as one of the top haunted campuses in the United States. http://forgottenoh.com/OU/ou.html My favorite place to live was in a dorm called Voigt hall. I was the Resident Assistant on the 4th floor, so there was no one above me. I would continuously hear footsteps on the floor above me. They were much heavier than a squirrel would make. And then one night, the RAs were having our staff meeting in the room that's just off the lobby. The door was one that you had to physically turn the knob in order to open it, there was no pushing it open. So, the five of us were sitting at a table on the opposite end of the room away from the door when we heard the click and saw it open. (It opened inward.) We waited, thinking it was a resident who needed something from us (our meetings were held during staff hours and residents often picked up packages during that time). We sat there for a full minute staring at that door, but no one came through it. Guessing that it was one of our residents messing with us, one of the other girls stood up to close the door so that we could resume our meeting. When she was about 5 feet from the door, close enough to reach her hand out, but not close enough to touch it, the door slammed shut. There is a story that Irma Voigt, the woman for whom the hall is names, haunts the dorm and after that, I'm a firm believer that she or someone like her still resides there. And she definitely made herself known to us in the best way she knew how that night. There was a portrait of her that hung in the main lobby, just outside the room we met in, that we made sure to say hello to each time we passed. Perhaps this was Irma's way of saying hello back? This wasn't my first experience at OU, but it certainly was my most memorable. Since then, I've had experiences where I've felt presences around me and have even had them grab and touch me. I have yet to see anyone, though. I think it's partially because I really don't want to see them. I have a fear of seeing an actual ghost. Next month I'm participating in a walking ghost tour of the town I now live in. We'll see what I discover that night. ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** |
| DAY 1040: September 21, 2015 "Imagination was given to man to compensate him for what he is not; a sense of humor to console him for what he is." - Francis Bacon I you had to choose between having an imagination or a sense of humor which would you choose? Which is more important an imagination or a sense of humor? This is a tough one because I'm not sure I could choose between the two. Without an imagination, how would we be able to see the world as it is? How could we understand the intricacies of this crazy place? And personally, how would I write? As a mother, I depend on my imagination to get me through my daily life. And no, it's not in the I will dream of the life that never was mine way. But instead, it's the how do I make these children's lives more way. That takes imagination and creativity. And, let me tell you, if you have ever been in a battle of wits with an 8 year old, you need all the imagination you can muster. But what is imagination without a sense of humor? I could imagine all the possibilities in life, but none would bring me joy? That is truly the saddest existence I could possibly imagine. But still I think this is the choice I would make. I couldn't possibly imagine my life without my imagination. I wouldn't want to. So I would choose imagination and would give away my sense of humor. Without imagination, we wouldn't be where we are today. For instance, take the coffee bean. A humble little bean in a plant that creates a wondrous life sustaining liquid. What an imagination it took to look at that bean and consider burning, grinding, and then pouring hot water over top. Or the wheel. Or electricity. Or any of the million inventions that we take for granted. Yes, imagination is definitely the more important of the two. ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** |
| If someone offered you a trip around the world on a large sailboat with them all expenses paid, would you go? In all honesty, it would really depend on who the person was. The people that you are with can really make or break your fun, so I'm not sure I would do this with just anyone, even though it wouldn't cost me a dime. I'm not so cheaply purchased. Now, if I liked the person, you bet your sweet cheeks I'd be on that boat in a heartbeat! (Sorry kids, Mama's got some dreams to live.) Or at least I will pretend that I would. ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** |
| What is your sleeping pattern like? Do you find it easy to fall asleep and stay asleep? How many hours of sleep do you get a night? I'm not quite sure how to describe my sleep pattern. Normally I'm in bed around 10 and then up again at 5. Unless I'm in a new place, I usually don't have a problem with falling asleep. Staying asleep can be another matter, though. I wake up at 3 and 4 am quite a lot actually. But on general, I strive to get between 6 and 7 hours of sleep a night. That seems to be what my body needs to function at its best. Though as I type this, I'm sitting in a cabin at 6am while the rest of my girl scout troop snoozes away. We were awake until 12:30 last night, so obviously waking up at 5 am is the most natural thing in the world, right? This is the annoying part of my sleep pattern. With the exception of a few rare occasions, I'm always awake at or around 5 am. Today will be interesting because I'm not sure how I will function on only 4 hours of sleep. However, I may go lay back down once I get my words written. We'll see. ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** |
| If you could connect one-on-one with one expert, what would you want to learn? Oh, what a perfect entry to follow yesterday's. I'd want to learn how to create stories that captivate readers. I'd want to learn how to create characters that dive off pages and follow you around long after the book is finished. I'd want to know what it takes to get pieces published and in the public eye. I would want to know all the tricks of the writing trade. I would want to know how to be successful. And then, since I likely know all of these things anyway, I would want to know how to put them into action. I'd want to know how to turn off the squirrels in my brain so that I could concentrate on a story for longer stretches. I'd want to know how to follow every story to its natural completion and not get stuck on words. Really, though, I do get to talk to experts one-on-one. WDC is full of experts and I talk to several every day. I'm incredibly blessed to have that breadth of knowledge available to me. Now...tell me again how to silence the squirrels and ignore the shinys. ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** |
| If you could switch bodies with one person for a day, who would it be? What mischief would you get into? Oh this is very interesting and the answer is easy! I'd be David Tennant's wife. She's thin and pretty and married to one of the most talented men on the planet, how could I not envy her? But, would that be wasting this amazing opportunity on a silly frivolity? Sure I am enamored with him, but wouldn't it make more sense to be someone that I strive to be. I could be JK Rowling for a day and find out her secrets for writing success. I could learn her tricks of the trade and discover what it is that makes her tick. That would likely be a more valuable use of my time than simply being arm candy for an actor, no matter how insanely attractive I find him. Yes, if I could switch bodies for a day, I would be JK Rowling. And you know the upside of all of this...JK Rowling would be me! She could fix my terrible stories into stuff that people want to read and publish. Oh think of the possibilities!! So, uh, where is this body switching machine anyway? ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** |
| There are four types of ice cream cones (1) cake cones, (2) sugar cones, (3) waffle cones, and (4) waffle bowls. See https://www.joycone.com/food-service/cone-compare/cone-types for pictures of each. What is your favorite ice cream cone? What type of ice cream do you like in the cone? I don't often eat my ice cream in a cone. I tend to prefer it in a dish or in a sundae. However, since the question is what cone is your favorite, I would have to pick either the waffle cone or the waffle bowl. These two seem to have the most flavor. Cake and Sugar cones taste like cardboard most of the time and I end up throwing them away. My favorite ice cream in the cone is probably banana or pumpkin. The Dari Point near me has custom flavors that they routinely change. When they open each year in march they have a peanut butter/banana swirl that tastes divine. It's one of my favorites. And then in the fall, they'll bring out their pumpkin ice cream which has all the spices and taste of a pumpkin pie. It's pure heaven in a cone or a cup. ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** |
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