Category Archives: blogging

How long do I have before the commerical cuts me off?

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My new friend TwinDaddy over at Stuph Blog has nominated me for the Liebster Blog Award – thank you for that!!  And be sure to check out his site – the guy is seriously funny!!  (and potentially doesn’t love oxymorons as much as I do!!)

The idea is to tell 11 things about yourself (super, nothing like revealing things well hidden), answer 11 questions posed by the person that nominated you (even worse, considering his sense of humor) and nominate other bloggers for the award.

So….some things about me, in no particular order (and don’t count, I will be short of eleven) – I would not survive a day without the aromatic scent and sensual taste of Hazelnut Vanilla coffee.  I would feel like I had lost an appendage if something happened to my dog.  I still have the Winnie The Pooh my mom gave me for my first birthday.  In 2011, I lost 50 pounds and have been able to keep it off.  My dream job was to be a journalist.  I’m going to finish my novel if it kills me.

His questions are as follows:

1) If you could live on any planet in that galaxy far, far away, which would it be?  After a very brief bit of research, and I’m talking 5 minutes, I would choose Tatooine for two reasons.  It slightly resembles my nickname (Tooie) and the name roughly translates into “the eyes”, and eyes never lie.

2) What is your favorite flavor Hot Pocket?  Channing Tatum in tight jeans…..or did I misunderstand the question?

3) What does an ideal day consist of for you? I wake up to the smile of my dog, drink an over-abundance of coffee, try to keep my hands from trembling from caffeine overdose, make it through my day job so I can come home and read the brilliant posts by my fellow bloggers, and I write.  Oh, and I curl two nights a week and love it.

4) You find the Stormtrooper armor sexy, don’t you?   It has permeated my dreams and I’m currently seeking therapy.

5) Kirk or Picard?  I just…..can’t…….answer……..that……….question……without……. thinking…………of……..Kirk.  (come on, if you ever watched it, you know that’s what he sounded like)

6) If I were to say, “Watch out, hot buns coming through!”, which type of buns would I be referring to?  The first thing that comes to mind is Princess Leia and the ridiculous “hair buns” on her head.  You love her, I know you do.  She makes your light saber twitch.

7) Who is your favorite comic book character?  I loved Betty from the Archie comics.  She was the girl that everyone could hang out with and she wasn’t obsessed with her looks.

8) What’s the worst movie you’ve ever seen? There are several that I couldn’t watch to the end, and generally I give movies the benefit of the doubt and hope they get better.  Apparently I’ve blocked out the names of the truly horrible….

9) Android, iPhone or Windows Phone? I’m having a relationship with my iPhone….is that wrong?

10) What the hell did you do that for?   I thought you said it would change my life…..foiled again!!

11) Why do you keep coming back to torment yourself with my inane writings?  Is inane a synonym for brilliant or hysterical?  ‘Cause if it is….that is a stupid question.

So….now to nominate other “dear” bloggers (Liebster means dearest in German) for this fun award.  I have no drumroll…..fail.

Change for a Year

Sethsnap

Girl of The Corn

Homesick and Heartstruck

Cobbled Toolbox 

A Word in Your Ear

All of these people write from the heart and/or share the dearest part of their lives through their photography.

Now….11 questions for them to ponder for a while.

1) What is the most important lesson you’ve learned in your life?

2) Who inspires you the most?

3) How would you share your talent if you couldn’t blog?

4) Do you think you can make genuine friends over the internet, even if you never meet face to face?

5) What is your favorite line from a novel or poem, and why?

6) If you could be a professional athlete, what sport would you choose?

7) How often do you curse?

8) Have you ever clicked “like” on a blog without actually reading the whole thing?

9) If you had to choose between only ever having television or music, which would you choose?

10) Do you regret anything you’ve done in your life, and would you go back to change it?

11) Do you believe in reincarnation?

Phew…..that was very taxing on my poor over-worked brain.  Now to relax with a glass of wine and try to get creative once again!!

He just didn’t get it

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Each Romantic Monday I find my brain reflecting on past romances I have had in my life.  I fondly remember what was so beautiful about them, and I sadly recall the things that could have been so much better.

When I am in love, the object of my affection is well aware of my feelings.   I am very demonstrative with subtle touches and knowing looks, I am very generous with my words of love and support and I strive to achieve the element of surprise when it comes to giving little tokens to simply make that other person smile.

rose

For some reason, on my drive to work this morning I dredged up a past relationship that had been pronounced dead long before its time.  After many attempts to perform CPR on the lifeless romance, it flat-lined and I had to call it.  I walked away knowing I had done all I could to save it and scrubbed my hands of the regret.

But that premature death still bothers me, because he just didn’t get it.   I would leave cards or poems on his dashboard just to make him smile.  What I thought was keeping us close, inevitably drove a wedge between us and the diseased cells began to form.  He was unable to appreciate the gifts I gave because they made him feel guilty for not buying me gifts or leaving cards where I would find them hours later.  What he failed to realize, is the only thing I wanted in return was his love.  I didn’t expect him to mirror my efforts, but I did expect him to understand that those displays and those gifts were me.  And if he couldn’t accept those, he couldn’t accept me.  Time of death – 8:00 pm on a Tuesday long ago.

I still visit the shallow grave of that romance on occasion.  I used to leave flowers on the tombstone, but I have since realized they will never be appreciated.

Smile and the world smiles with you

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Nobody remembers the specifics of my entrance into the world, much like they don’t recall how I got my nickname, but they do remember that I was abundantly happy at an age when babies do nothing more than cry and sleep.  I was not the baby who would play strange and scream if a stranger picked me up, there was no colic, no fuss, just smiles.  My mother used to wake me up at 11:00 at night just so she could play with me because I was such a happy toddler.   Her friends thought she was certifiable until she invited them over to prove a point.  I became a real hit at parties!

smiling-baby-with-toys

(not actually me, but the resemblance is uncanny)

I am fortunate to have carried that disposition with me throughout my life.  I am rarely in a bad mood.  And although my mother doesn’t come over at 11:00 pm to play with me anymore, I wake up in the morning, smiling and just, happy.

I am the person in the room that will make a ridiculous statement so I can make even one person smile.  On the curling ice, I’m the comedian who invented full-contact curling. I don’t use it very often, but the thought of me turning into a Defensive Tackle on the ice amuses people and makes the game more fun.  One of my teammates told me he didn’t think I have an angry bone in my body.  (He hasn’t seen me dealing with an aggressive hotel guest hell-bent on proving they are right, when, against the premise of the rules of customer service, I vehemently disagree.)

I am lucky that I am able to find the joy in the small things in my life.  Music lifts my spirit – when I am alone, I sing like I’m on stage, I dance in my kitchen just because it’s fun and I am content to just feel light and joyous.  Even writing this post, I am smiling because I am still able to not dwell on the negative and appreciate the precious things in my life.

Smile and the world really does smile with you.

A closed mouth gathers no foot

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Blessed are those with the gift of discretion – those select members of society who have the foresight to think before they utter their thoughts aloud.  They carefully create the vision of syllables tumbling from their mouths in perfect synchronicity and follow through with eloquence and grace on their delivery.  Their words are distinct and, most often, fraught with meaning.  Their sentences have symmetry and structure and have been scrutinized at great length before being uttered.  They leave no opportunity to say the wrong thing.  In short – they think before they speak.

Because nature dictates balance in all things, there are also those who throw caution to the wind.  They randomly spew the first words that enter their brain without giving them the benefit of being filtered through the proper sieve of political or even conventional correctness.  The words are out there, hanging in the air like the particles of moisture in a dense fog.  They become thick and difficult to navigate without inevitably crashing into an invisible concrete barrier.  When the burning heat of embarrassment burns away the remnants of that fog, the orator stands alone with one foot firmly implanted in their mouth.

foot-in-mouth

Having the wisdom to compose a thought before it is cast out to the point of no return is the key to not having the bitter aftertaste of ten-year old running shoes saturating your taste buds.  Formulating a response with deliberation ensures that you are clear in what you want to say without being hurtful, cynical or idiotic.  Knowing when to step back and think before you speak gives you an opportunity to sound thoughtful and articulate, without the aftermath of explanations and backtracking.

Unless you have a foot fetish, keep in mind that words are more appreciated when sentences are given a moment to take their proper form.  Knowing what you want to say is decided in a second.  Being able to control the outpouring of emotion and present those ideas properly is worth the extra ten seconds to avoid the taste of Nike mouthwash.

Step aside, I brought my cape

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Oh Daily Prompt, you got me two days in a row.  Good for you.  Today’s challenge – Honestly evaluate the way you respond to crisis situations. Are you happy with the way you react?

When it came to handling a crisis, my father was Superman.  His cape is currently bronzed and on display in the vault of my memories.  He had the rare gift of being able to not dwell on the crisis itself, but instead focus on the necessary course of action that needed to immediately follow.  I owe him a great debt of gratitude for passing that trait on to me.

There have been many moments in my life that I have had to rely on the sturdy cape that was hidden so delicately beneath the shroud of my clothing.  It has never once failed to unleash itself when required, and last summer it was put to the test.

I work at a large family resort where chaos can ensue at any moment.  We entertain approximately 350 guests each week and we have been lucky to have avoided any major catastrophes, but last summer the God’s of Fate pointed their fickle finger and decided our time had come.

The front switchboard phone had been ringing incessantly, and I picked up one of the calls.  The sheer panic on the other end of the phone made my heart accelerate to ten times its normal rhythmic beat.   The woman on the other end of the phone was sobbing and between her deep inhalations, the words “my husband is having a heart attack” fell like scrabble tiles onto my desk.

She stayed on the line while I was simultaneously dialing 9-1-1 and alerting our lifeguards to the location of the room the gentleman was staying.  Once they were on route, I contacted the owner of our Water Ski program who is a volunteer fire fighter and first response.  There were five staff members at her suite in a matter of two minutes.  After directing the ambulance to the proper location, the minutes that followed felt like days.  The wife, daughters and grandchildren were seated cross-legged on the lawn across from his room, their tears saturating the grass.  It wasn’t until several hours later that we found out the dear man had not survived.

Even through what was undeniably one of the most traumatic experiences in their lives, and mine for that matter, the family was extremely gracious and thankful for our quick action and thoughtfulness.  It was not only my cape that flew proudly that day, but I’m certainly glad it has weathered each crisis that it has been called to handle.  It never falters, and is ready at a moment’s notice to attempt mend whatever is broken without a second thought.

Intention is nine tenths of the blog

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In this space we all strive to speak to an audience, to reach people on a level they understand and enjoy. Our intention is to enlighten or amuse, to shock and impact our readers, or to simply free the voice in our head. Regardless of why we are here, we want to write. We want to put our words into the world so people will read them and come back wanting more because something we said reached them on some unspoken level. We want to feel that some part of our psyche left an indelible imprint on their brain and they connect with our words in a multitude of ways.

We write for different reasons and we write in unique voices, but within the vast forum of the blogosphere there is a common thread that binds us all – we write. We may compose those words for a variety of reasons and our passions may be fueled by different fires, but we all burn with same intensity. Sometimes those flames completely engulf us and we are overwhelmed by the fury of the fire. And sometimes those embers simply lay in wait, still, with the hope of becoming a fire and requiring the strike of an idea to rekindle that pyre of words.

fire

My intention when I started this blog was simply to write. What I didn’t expect was to encounter the myriad number of people who enrich my life with their words. I didn’t anticipate the number of people who are rapidly becoming a staple in my day by simply doing what they love to do and by sharing their voices as well. My voice has not been quelled, but amplified by the influence of those around me. My fire, although burning at a steady pace, is not only sustained by their thought-provoking words, it is intensified by their true passion for putting words to a page. For that, my fellow bloggers and potential friends, I thank you.

The light of the fire still warms me. It envelops me and hypnotizes me with the patterns in the flames. My sleep is disrupted. My moments of REM are becoming non-existent, but I accept that fate because my intention is to listen to the voices that rouse me from that slumber and give them the freedom to say what they want to say. Let the fire burn.

Courage of conviction

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The Daily Prompt has inspired me once again.  Today’s prompt asks – tell us your favorite thing about yourself.

If you had asked me this question ten years ago I may not have been able respond.  Sure, there were things about myself that I liked.  I can sing pretty well, although I am too self-conscious to sing in front of anyone other than my dog.  I was pretty talented when it came to making and decorating wedding cakes.  But those things are just hobbies, things I seem to be able do with some sort of talent and things I enjoy.

During the past decade of my life, I seem to have gone through a metamorphosis, mentally and spiritually.  I found my inner compass and steadily began to acclimate to the new direction I was headed.  I found the courage of conviction to have a voice of my own.   I found the inner strength to truly believe that the talents I possess are worthy of comments, and I found the determination to follow my dream of being a writer.

Good things happen when you finally believe in yourself and my first published magazine article will be out in May.  That courage of conviction fueled the vehicle that led me here.  I trusted my talent, and more than that, I trusted myself.

I let my true colors finally shine through.

All is “write” with the world again

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When I was eleven years old the writing Gods opened the heavens, the sky rained idioms and I was saturated with words.  I stood in the downpour with my arms in the air, letting myself become soaked in their beauty and I was drenched in a freshly watered passion. The seeds of creativity took root and steadily began to grow.  The garden of ideas was a portrait of spectral beauty and has continued to blossom in my imagination.

Perhaps I didn’t realize the depth of that passion until I was old enough to understand the true gift of being able to express myself from somewhere deep within my mind.  At that tender age of eleven I began writing silly poems, at least I thought they were silly, but the words just wouldn’t stop.  I began carrying a notebook everywhere and would jot down each idea as it came to me.  During slumber parties with the girls, they would all sit in a circle on the floor giggling about the boys, and I would be in a comfy chair writing poems about them.  Eventually I just stopped going to the parties because their incessant giggling was too distracting.  We were twelve, I don’t think I missed much.

Teenage angst and unrequited love only fueled the creative fires when I reached high school.  What teenage girl doesn’t write reams of hopeless thoughts about boys, loves lost to the mean girls and the ones that got away?  My pubescent phase was a match made in heaven for the endless stream of sorrow filled words that tripped over themselves to be freed.  I still read some of those old scribblings and am transported back to those ugly braces and bad 80’s haircuts, but I still can remember exactly how I felt when I wrote those words.

quill and inkwell

I lost that passion for a while.  Perhaps it was losing myself in a bad relationship, or perhaps it was just life in general that drained my will to create, but during that period I felt empty.  The voices that used to tell me their stories had fallen silent and I was alone with nothing more than my reality.  When the fog eventually lifted, I began writing my novel a few years ago, but it didn’t access all of voices that had been quelled.  It felt constrictive in a way because it followed one idea, and so it sat and the characters became idle once again.

This blog has helped to lift those voices into song and I am able to hear those choirs and the beautiful harmony they have been waiting to share.  I even feel compelled to write poetry again which I have not done in a long time.  The book now has new life being breathed into it and characters that were once cryogenically frozen in the tundra of my muted brain are now becoming reanimated.  Perhaps they too feel the freedom to speak their mind because they are no longer in the spotlight.  They have the will to move in and out of my consciousness and speak when they feel compelled to say something.  We are dating again, getting to know each other which is sometimes awkward because there are currently three of them and one of me, but the conversation is never boring.  We will continue our ritual dance of the double entendres and I will wait for the day that they are able to pick up the tab.

Weekly Photo Challenge – Round

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A Word in Your Ear  gives us a weekly photo challenge, which I am coming to love.  It really makes me look back through forgotten photographs and take a much needed stroll down memory lane.  I have only one entry, but this has always been one of my favorite photos.  I love taking pictures of the moon and this was one that turned out better than I expected.

Moon

The long overdue and a relatively new – thank you post (and an update).

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**At the same time I was posting this yesterday, the brilliant and funny Edward Hotspur nominated me for a Versatile Blogger award as well.  This weekend was better than the Oscars for me….although I was not appropriately dressed in gown and stiletto’s.  But my reaction may have mirrored an overly made up actress after a few glasses of wine.  Thankfully, my dog will never tell.

Here is the original post:

I am a bad blogger.  Not in the sense of my writing, I’m pretty confident that I can string some meaningful sentences together and I don’t foresee an end to my nonsensical ideas any time soon (sad but true).  However, I was given The Sunshine Award a while ago by Pretty Little Dreamer  and I failed to mention that award when I received it.  And today, I was thrilled to receive the Versatile Blogger Award from confessions of an online dater.   Thank you both so much….it is truly appreciated.

sunshineawardversatile-blogger-award

There are rules involved with these awards, but I like to throw caution to the wind and alter the rules slightly.  So many blogs grab my attention for so many reasons and there are too many to list here.  Sufficed to say, they make me think, they make me laugh and they make me cry.  I encourage you to peruse the list of bloggers that I follow.  Their words reach me on many different levels and I am developing some friendships with these kindred spirits.  They encourage me on a daily basis to continue my writing journey and they inspire me with their words.

As for me listing things about myself, it would be a short and uninteresting list.  Your viewing pleasure would be better served by clicking on the links to the pages that make me want to keep writing and free the words that long to be written.  The people behind these blogs are talented, funny and genuinely nice people and I truly hope I can follow in the grand footsteps they have left behind for me to follow.