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Or just a mind that thinks too much. |
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A place to practice my writing. Also where I will put my random thoughts, ideas, rants, and whatever else I have to say. ** Image ID #1901871 Unavailable ** ** Image ID #1779494 Unavailable ** |
| In my latest assignment for the Grammar Garden, I had to remove all the adverbs from a story we were given permission to use. I see why adverbs aren't necessary. Now I am scared to go back to my own stories and edit. I know this is silly, but I have a tendency to come down hard on myself and I know my stuff is full of them. Another thing that boggles me, is the book I am currently reading. It is a best seller and I absolutely love the story. The thing is, I notice all the adverbs in the story now. It's full of them. I feel so silly reading a sentence and then re reading it without the adverb. I'm not sure what to think about this best selling author now. I was under the impression you had to have your story perfectly written and adverb free. Well not totally free, but you know what I mean. Perhaps in the next lesson they will cover that. Maybe I'll ask Winnie. She's the expert. I'm the novice. Onto another subject. Remember when I asked myself what I would do if a ghost appeared to me? (see previous entry) I thought about it and realized I wouldn't say anything at all. At first I would be in shock, then I would try to make physical contact. Imagine what kind of energy would be floating around. What would that feel like? I have watched all these stories of people talking to ghost, but noone ever physically touched one. I don't know if that's possible, but I'd give it a try. Dieting. Thinking of starting a diet. Last year I lost fifty pounds and kept it off. I am slowly incorporating healthier habits into my lifestyle. It's not easy. I struggle with this more than excersizing. I bought Just Dance 2 for my kids. This is so fun, I can play this for hours. And I do. My kids fizzle out an hour and a half in, and leave me to dance alone. I recommend this game to anyone who has a Wii. I don't know if they make it for Xbox or Playstation This counts as excersize because the game keeps track of how much you sweat and even has a daily workout program to track your progress. I am so entertained, I do not notice that I am working out. Great for me and I get to have fun with the kids at the same time. Thanks for stopping by. Lana |
| I think it was around this time last year that I had my house to myself. I'm shocked the quiet is bothering me. It doesn't help that I watched celebrity ghost stories ten minutes ago. I have this eerie feeling I can't shake off. I'm waiting for an apparition to appear, a door to mysteriously creak open, or my dog to bark viciously at a wall. What would I say to a ghost if it did appear to me? I have to think about that. I'll get back to you. |
| For the past couple of days, my main topic of conversation with my familia has been about names. This started when I entered a contest for my review group WDC Power Reviewers Group. The contest was to write about why I chose my handle. I usually read my stories or poems to my kids after I write them. They always tell me they're great and they can't wait for me to write another one. My daughter loves to hear the reviews I receive and she is often over my shoulder reading the reviews I write. This new story of mine was a hit with my son, my daughter wasn't too happy. When I asked her why she didn't like my story, she said, "Its not the story I don't like mom. It's your name." Well I was shocked. I asked her, "Why? What's wrong with my name? I love it." She responded, "Your name is odd because it starts with an L. My name is better because it starts with an N!" I was cracking up. What would possess her to say a thing like that? I said, "Oh yeah, well the letter L comes before the letter N so ha!" She immediately began reciting the alphabet aloud, and I doubled over with laughter. Since then, we have been thinking of funny and odd names for each other. Today I was Alana Banana. If your interested in why I chose my handle, check out the link below.
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| How do you help someone who doesn't want help? This is the dilemma I am in. At the moment I struggle with giving up. I hate to quit. It bugs me to no end knowing I didn't finish something I started. There are something's I have no control of and I accept that. I move on and that's fine with me. I am not so sure I can turn away from this with a clear conscience, but I am at the breaking point. I just don't know what to do. Every approach I take ends in failure. I am waiting for that epiphany, that Aha! moment of clarity, when the answer simply appears. I've been waiting for a while now and, nothing is bubbling to the surface. I have asked a few trusted friends, but their answer is to quit. My question to them is: Would you want someone to give up on you? Will I have regrets if I do? Will I be able to live with them? I am stressing so much, I think I need therapy.  Anyone know of a decent therapist? Preferably a free one? I'm so screwed up today.  |
| Thankful for what I have. It may not be much, but it's mine I know. Learned the hard way that you can't count on anyone but yourself so, It's been a long journey and I have a long long way to go. A path I walk alone, a lonely road, so I take it slow. Fighting my entire life. for what? I still don't know. Happy day gone sour, like a strawberry without the sweet. So I walk this path alone, real slow, dragging my feet. Thankful for what I have. It's mine; this much I know. This path I walk is lonely when I don't know where to go. Just putting my thought out there. Don't know if I'm breaking any rules of poetry. I don't know all of them yet. Maybe I'll fix it up, maybe not. Just had to write it down. |
| Autumn is my favorite season. I have plenty of reasons why I love the fall season. I love the weather. It's perfect; not to cold not to hot. There are no pesky bugs like in the spring or summer and I don't have to carry around bug spray or sun screen. I can take a walk wearing jeans and a sweater and kick up the fallen leaves piled up on the sidewalk. My favorite thing to do is rake up the leaves in the biggest pile I can, and watch my kids jump around in them. When all the leaves are scattered around again, I rake them back up and then, I join in the fun. Taffy apples or Affy tapples if you want to be precise, are sold by all the public schools in this season. I absolutely love them. I order a case every year. No I don't eat all of them. But I do indulge. This is my vice. Apples smothered in caramel and peanuts. Yum! Halloween. It's a big thing in my neighborhood. The neighbors are in a serious competition with each other. Every year they have the newest and largest decorations adorning their lawns. Some of the them take it to a larger scale. The entire blocks decorations would link with each others. It's like walking down a haunted block. It's pretty cool. My kids love when I take them there, because I always scream at the fake zombie neighbor jumping out of the bushes or throw candy at the fake vampire neighbor who chases me around and tries to pinch my bottom. He thinks it's OK because he is wearing a costume.  My kids collect tons of candy, and I hide it from them a few days later. I know. I am a terrible mother. They still love me.  My birthday is in the fall. Birthdays are a big deal in my family. We take birthdays seriously and have been known to have the best parties in town. This year my sisters are planning my party so I know it is going to be HUGE. I can't wait! Thanksgiving. Family gathering time. Yippee! This day is the most hectic of all holidays for my family. We never have our own dinner. We go to four different homes. This is an all day event. From the morning until late at night. I have turkey for breakfast, brunch, lunch, and dinner.I never have room for desert. It's fun; and I don't have to stay in one place for too long, making it a pleasant experience. I started this tradition with my daughter a couple of years ago. Everyday while we walk to school, we collect a few of the leaves that have fallen from the maple trees. There are rules. The leaf has to be any color except green. The exception would be if the green was mixed with red or yellow because it would signify the changing of seasons. It can be any size and it has to be whole. Torn ones don't count. When we have collected enough, we place them between the pages of books until they dry out. That usually takes a few weeks. When all that is done, we place them in a photo album and mark the year they were collected and put it away. When winter rolls around and we are bored of being confined by the cold, I pull out the photo album and we gather on the sofa and compare the years of fallen leaves we collected. We talk about the different colors and how they changed over the years or stayed the same. We also are reminded that winter will be over soon and spring will come, bringing beautiful colors and warmer weather. |
I have finished my last assignment about two minutes ago. I read this great article about the usage of adverbs and why they are the enemy. I have read a few books on writing and they all say adverbs are the devil, but never clarify. Now I have a better understanding and I feel better about revising my work. The article said something along the lines of: The reason you reach for adverbs is because your verbs are weak. Why do you need an adverb to modify a verb? Ding ding ding. I should have known this. I think I did once upon a time, and let that knowledge slip away. How stupid of me. Oh well. The Grammar Garden is a great class. I am learning and re learning the basics. So far, I am doing good. I wish I had more time to focus on the forum discussions. I am thankful I am able to get the work turned in on time. From the Ground Up is so much fun for me. I am enjoying writing poetry as much as I enjoy reading it. I love it! I envision poetry as a giant mathematical painting, flowing with rhythm and music. Each class I learn more and am awestruck at how much I don't know. I wrote a cool poem today. Karen said it was really good. I didn't expect that at all, so it made my day. I didn't think it was that good. But hey, she is the expert. She knows what she's talking about. She's cool.  Tomorrow I'm taking my son for his follow up. The doc wants to make sure his lungs are better. I am worried, but I think he is improving. I hope he recovers soon. I hate to see my baby sick. Worrying is pointless. I always tell my friends that, worrying is like sitting in a rocking chair, you move, but you don't go anywhere. I should take my own advice. I am such a hypocrite.  Oh well. I am off to my kitchen for some tea and reading.  Have a great night, or day, or whatever time your in. Bye.Lana |
| A grueling day so far. My son went through a breathing treatment and two chest xrays. The doctor determined he has a double ear infection and a bronchitis type chest infection. He needs three different medications and has to come back Friday to make sure his chest is better. I also had a hell of time explaining to the pharmacist how important it was for my son to get his meds today. She didn't even know how many the doctor prescribed and now I have to wait for the doctor to come back to the office so I can have her call the Pharmacy and straighten things out. How can you not know how to do your job and get angry at me because you messed up? To top it all off, I come home to a demanding husband and daughter who apparently forgot how to do anything themselves. Backed up on my studies and forum posts, Way way behind on my reviews, and I'm not sure if I will get any sleep tonight. Forgot to eat again. At least I wrote something down today. |
| Not a good morning. I am taking my son to the doctor. The past three days he was running a high fever and now his chest is so congested he can barely breathe. Last year he had pneumonia. I am hoping and praying it is not that bad. I am so worried I can barely think straight. He is so happy he doesn't have to go to preschool. I'll update later. Too worried. |
| I have come to this blog many times today. Every time was the same. Nothing to say. Well a lot to say actually, but I didn't want to complain about all the things going wrong. Or, shall I say, not going my way. What the heck. It's complainin' time. Let's talk about the first thing that went wrong today. Now bear with me if you have a good man or are single. And please, don't take offense because I believe that some men get stupid and stubborn all mushed up in their head, mix it up with testosterone, and then speak out loud pissing off their wives or girlfriends. These are simply my observations. On with the story. My husband woke up grumpy (Oh no!) and began arguing with me about whether or not I gave him my glasses last night. Stupid right? He can be so stubborn and truthfully, I didn't care one bit because I had already found them hours ago. This went on for about twenty to thirty minutes. After that ridiculous episode, I went on to the kitchen where the never ending pile of dirty dishes awaited me. In the middle of all the suds and scrubbing, his favorite beer glass happens to slip out of my hand and break against another glass. "Shit!" I said. I know he's going to think I did this to tick him off. It was a total accident. Really it was. I braced myself for the inevitable. Another argument, and useless ammunition for him to use in a future fight. Yeah he goes there! This crap only happens to me. I am the one who gets into odd messes like this. You know, the kind of situation where I look completely guilty, but I am actually totally innocent. Allow me to explain. Say there is a major bank robbery, and I happen to be walking past the scene with a purse full of money. Well, It just so happens that I hit the jackpot at the casino an hour ago. Anyway, I'm walking past at the same time the robbers are running out, one of them happens to bump into me and our bags fly up in the air causing the money to scatter and fly all around getting mixed up in the process. The cops get there in the nick of time and the witnesses come out and confirm the thieves. "That's her! She's the thief!" One of them will point at me and shout. Then more will join in the accusing and pointing, and I will be arrested along with the real criminals, unable to make my " I just won this money in the casino" story believable. Later, my alibi will be confirmed and I will be released. Of course, the money I won will be held for months until the trial is over. The officers will pat me on the back and say something like "tough break kid" or "sorry for that ma'am", and my husband, along with the rest of my family, will crack jokes for the next twenty five to thirty years. |
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