Tuesday thoughts

March 19, 2013March 19, 20134 Comments

I’m too tired to come up with much in the way of a post tonight, so I think I’ll just leave you with these pretty pictures instead. Seymour surprised me with a visit this morning and gave me some pretty lilies before taking me out to lunch. Then for supper tonight, the kids and I tried our hand at making homemade donuts using Pillsbury biscuits and a deep fryer. They turned out pretty well, but the kids were wired for the rest of the night.

Pretty flowers from a pretty sweet guy. 🙂

Seymour has good taste. 🙂

Delicious homemade donuts. 🙂

Now if only the sugar had had the same effect on me… 😀

Flowers: Pretty in Pink (myphotoyear2012.wordpress.com)

Star Trek quilting frenzy!

March 8, 2013March 8, 20132 Comments

In an unusual turn of events, a recent home remodeling project led to a crafty weekend of sorts. How, you may be asking? Well, I’ll tell you. And to keep it from getting boring, I’ve got pictures!

The last weekend of February, Seymour and I loaded up the zoo and took a road trip to visit his parents in the bustling metropolis of Ankeny. On a quest to find some stencils to use in our bedroom, we headed to Jo Ann Fabrics. That was a very bad idea. We left much poorer than we went in, our arms full of fabric. But oh, was it ever cool fabric!

We left with two types of fabric and two types of projects in mind. Project number one: Tie blankets. I’ve made one before, and it was fairly simple. I felt confident that I could help Seymour’s mom figure it out, especially since Thumper has one in his crib and we were going to make the blankets together (no more doing things long-distance like the time we tried to make a fitted sheet for his cradle mattress). Project number two: Pillow cases! Because what good would a new blanket be without a new pillow case to go with it?

Sweet therapy

February 26, 20136 Comments

Today has been a day of dashed expectations and…interesting results. If you follow me on Twitter, then you’ll know that today’s forecasted 30% chance of a trace to an inch of snow turned into yet another raging blizzard. We’re supposed to get five to nine inches now, we’re in a winter storm warning till noon tomorrow, and the wind has once again been blowing like a banshee. This time the speeds have been around 20-30 mph with gusts a little higher. I left work early after hearing how treacherous the roads were; it was a nightmare of a drive that necessitated some cookie therapy.

Once I got the boys up from their much-delayed naps, I started on supper. Since both the older kids are with their other parents today, I had to leave Cricket and Thumper to their own devices in the living room where they could be contained while I threw some chicken in a pot with some rice and cream of mushroom soup (delish, by the way). When I came back, I found them sneaking out of my book collection, phone and books in hand, and Thumper pantsless.

Lately…

February 5, 20134 Comments

Lately I’ve been working. A lot. I’ve been working a lot at work (Ooh, hello, tax season!). I’ve been working a lot at home, too (the laundry never. ends.), both on house-type stuff and writing-type stuff. I have my work cut out for me on the last chapter I wrote; the last third of it needs some serious help. But that will have to wait.

I’ve also been having some fun. With what, you ask? Well, I’ve been messing about on Pinterest quite a lot lately. You can find boards depicting Lokana, the surrounding area, and the people who live there. You can also find a few laughs, if you’re so inclined, and maybe a little writerly inspiration.

I’ve also rekindled my photography habit. Or rather, my photo-editing habit. Behold, the fruits of my labor. . .behind the cut!

I’m inspiring – Part II

January 20, 2013January 27, 201310 Comments

Hi there, folks! How’s it going? I hope you’re all keeping warm. Iowa is currently back in the deep freeze after a lovely thaw. I have to admit, that week of 40-degree days was lovely. I really do live in the wrong state when it comes to winter.

But that’s not what I meant to write about tonight. In the space of a couple hours earlier today, I was nominated for the Very Inspiring Blogger Award twice! I was nominated for this award back in August and if you’d like to see what I had to say then, you can find the post here. I’ve spent the last hour or so trying to decide if I should do it again, but since two people were nice enough to nominate me, I decided, what the heck? Why not?

So, without further ado, many thanks to the lovely Tricia Drammeh and Maegan Provan, who were kind enough to nominate me. Tricia is a wonderful writer and it is a privilege to know her – if you’re not already following her, you should be! And Maegan is a new follower here, one I’m sure I will enjoy getting to know. Thank you for the love, ladies!

And now, without further ado,

What six looks like

January 3, 2013January 4, 20137 Comments

While perusing my Facebook feed a couple weeks ago (which is actually when I started writing this post, but then life happened), I stumbled across a link to this article on the Huffington Post called “What Six Looks Like.” Written by Jennifer Rowe Walters, it details her reaction to the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School and a conversation she had with a friend that clarified that reaction. It’s a very moving post. If you haven’t seen it yet, you should definitely check it out.

What does six look like? I think Ms. Walters does a pretty good job of showing us what six looks like. But what about ten? What does ten look like? Or nine? Or two? Or one?

Time flies

December 17, 2012December 17, 20122 Comments

My little Tomcat at the tender age of four
Photo by Kay Kauffman

My, how time flies! Without my even realizing it, this little blog o’ mine has turned five years old. That happened somewhere around the tail end of last month and I forgot all about writing my planned retrospective about my time in the blogging world.

Five years. My, how the years have flown! I started blogging about six months after my divorce was finalized. I wanted to write passionate political spiels of great depth and insight; I wanted to pen fantastic short fiction that was sure to catch the eye of someone important, that elusive one right person who could make all my lifelong literary dreams come true; I wanted to create a wildly successful blog that would spawn book deals and syndicated columns and who knows what else.

In short, I had high hopes. I was young, bright-eyed yet jaded. Possibly I had delusions of grandeur.

The writer speaks

December 10, 2012December 11, 201212 Comments

Friday morning, I visited the third graders at Reinbeck Elementary School. The kids were all lovely and quite attentive while I prattled on about poetry and writing, punctuated by the occasional attempt at humor. (My suspicions that I’m not funny were confirmed – not one kid cracked a single smile.)

Mrs. Fleshner introduced me by saying how surprised she was to discover an author in their midst. I imagine it was something of a surprise; I’ve known her a couple years now, as Tadpole had her for third grade last year and nothing was ever said of my writing then. But at conferences this year, we happened to get on the subject of books and how we just don’t have the time to read as much or as often as we would like. I said that my problem was that I wanted to both read books and write them, but I didn’t have the time to do both, and that was how we ended up discussing my writing. She invited me to speak to the class, and I agreed, despite my intense dislike of public speaking.

I surprised her again when I arrived a bit early, laden with visual aids.

‘Tis the season to be jolly and joyous!

December 8, 2012December 8, 20126 Comments

The Muppet Christmas Carol (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I really need to keep reminding myself of that. Maybe one of these days, it’ll sink in.

It took me all afternoon, but I got my Christmas cards addressed and sent off to all our friends and family. Well, I put them in our mailbox and put the flag up, anyway. I watched The Muppet Christmas Carol with the boys tonight before they went to bed. I’ve been listening to Christmas music all week, and we decorated our office yesterday afternoon.

And yet? Yeah, my Christmas spirit is still MIA. If anyone finds it, will you please send it home? I kinda need it. Thank you.

Christmas spirit – or lack thereof

December 2, 2012December 2, 201213 Comments

I’ve been trying to get in the Christmas spirit this weekend. After all, it’s a new month (December! How the heck did that happen?), and Christmas party season is already in full swing. I’ve attended three so far and the month has barely begun! But I’m not sure that my Christmas spirit has yet found me. In fact, it seems to be more and more difficult for me to locate with each passing year.

I’m having trouble figuring out why this is. When I was younger, Christmas was my favorite holiday. And I don’t just mean when I was a kid, either, which shoots Seymour’s theory of all play and no work in the foot. The music, the food, the happiness that seems to fill the air and everyone around – I love it all. I love the decorations and Christmas trees and the hot apple cider that the Hardin County Auditor’s Office puts out for visitors to the courthouse every year. Most of all, I love spending time with my family, especially the people I don’t often get to see.

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