Just Write



(courtesy mashable.com)

The air hangs thick, as it always does before a Spring rain.  It waits for the tension to build until the pressure of breathable water is too much to contain.  Droplets squeeze out of low-hanging clouds, resembling too-ripe fruit falling from the overladen branches of trees in late Summer.  Rain falls harder, faster, as the pavement runs in silver rivulets of water along a path that never ends.  Liquid diamonds pierce the earth, soaking into the deep wrinkles of its face, every line a reminder of the incessant need for moisture.

I love to write.

Most of the writing I do is, quite frankly, crap.  But that doesn't stop me from either writing or sharing it with the bloggy world. 

Too many times we, as writers, (and we ARE writers) are afraid to share what we write.  We're afraid people will read us and think we're silly.  We're afraid people won't read us.  We're afraid we aren't good enough, smart enough, that we don't use correct verbiage, grammar, punctuation, spelling...you name it.

We're afraid people will laugh at us.

We're afraid that this child of our heart, our writing, will be subjected to others who will not appreciate our gift to them.  We're afraid we won't be taken seriously - that we'll be cast aside as just another blogger trying to be more than he or she actually is.

Most of all, we're afraid people will read us and think we have no talent.

We hang on by tenuous threads, never wanting others to judge us harshly, yet still seeking the truth about our work.  We live in self-deprecation, never allowing ourselves to believe that we may actually have that spark, that special something that will one day allow us to realize our dream of being published.  It sometimes seems as far away as those hidden planets that have yet to be discovered; at other times, it's as close as the next word.

"Practice makes perfect," they say.  But what of we who want perfection now?

All we can do is write.  We can't help ourselves.  We MUST write.  We must tell the stories of our lives.  We must write and keep on writing, never giving up.  It's the only way we know; the only way to survive this art that owns us, body and soul.

We just write.

An Epic Fail at the Sale

(courtesy Buehlers.com)

I like to consider myself a bargain hunter.

Before I purchase something I will check out reviews, look through Consumer Reports, peruse advertisements and the Internet.  It is my mission in life to find the least possible price on the best possible product available.

And that's just for toilet paper.

My mental health depends upon it.  So much so that after I purchase a product, I refuse to look at ads for a good week afterwards.  What if someone had a BETTER product at a LOWER price than what I paid???  I can't just RETURN THE TOILET PAPER so I can get a better price!  There are RULES about that kind of thing. 

Welcome to my crazy.

Then I started couponing.  Oh yes, I did.  And I think you can see where this is going.

I hunted down and printed out and clipped and almost stole every coupon I could.  It didn't matter if it was five cents off on three pounds of lard or a dollar off on a radial arm saw.  It didn't matter if I needed it or not, because LOOK!!! COUPON!!!  MONEY SAVED!!!  I read blog after blog to see where I could get more coupons and even free items.  Couponing became my god.

Then I got wise.  Couponing was too much work.  It took too long to organize and then use the coupons.  And most of all, it took too much money.  I ended up spending more during my Coupon Phase than any other time, especially if you add in the hours and the paper and the clipping and the shushing and the booming.  And the angry husband who wanted to know WHY it took me FOUR HOURS at the store every time I got groceries.

The next phase was the Price Match.  Wal-Mart matches the price on all the grocery ads in the area, so I figured it was a win-win situation.  No coupons!  Just buy what we need! Get sales!

And then the OCD took over and I was lost again.

I had to pore through every ad I could get my hands on for the very best possible price on the very best possible product.  I subscribed to the newspaper.  I spent hours finding, and then listing every single item on a spreadsheet that contained the product, the brand, the size and weight, the price offered, the store name and location, and a partridge in a pear tree. Oh yes, I did. Then I went to the store and spent more time searching down each and every thing on the list in order to do what I needed to do not just well, but PERFECTLY.

Again, you can see where this is going.

I ended up being an EPIC FAIL at all of it.

Nowadays I still shop at the Wal-Marts for my groceries, along with a food co-op for fresh produce.  I may or may not bring an ad in for something I see on sale at another store in order to price match.  I might even use a coupon now and again.  I still subscribe to the money-saving blogs, although 99% of the time I look at the titles and delete them from my feed reader. I discontinued the newspaper subscription.

It's what I have to do to stay sane.  And if it costs a little more at the checkout counter, I'll pay that.

It's a small price for sanity.

A Glorious Day in May

Yesterday when I got home from work I took some time out to enjoy the day.  Hubster and The Girl made dinner (**dances with JOY!!!**), so I took time out to water the flowers and the vegetable garden.  The temperature was just right outside and the sun was shining.

How I love days like this!

After dinner we spent even more time outside.  The Girl and Pseudo Daughter went for a run, and I sat on the front porch watching the cars go by.  Neighbor came over to chat, Hubster came out of the house to join us, and another neighbor came over as well.  The girls returned from their run and joined the party.

We sat there, the six of us, just talking.  FOR TWO HOURS.

It was a wonderful way to spend a Spring evening!

Give Thanks

(Photo courtesy 1-800-flowers)

Mother's Day was fantastic.

I didn't have to have overdone eggs and burnt toast for breakfast, because the kids are old enough to pooh-pooh getting up early enough to cook for me on my day.  I loved it when they were little, but I love it even more now.  :)

The Boy stuck a note in my bedroom door that said, "Happy Mother's Day - I Love You" and that made my day.  Later, he produced a rose, a card and a gift card to (where else) Starbucks.  The Girl presented me a card and a gift certificate for a pedicure.

The gifts were great, but the cards really touched my heart.  The kids obviously read through them and chose carefully, and reading what they chose brought me to tears.

I got a call later in the afternoon from Son (who lives out of town) to wish me a great day.

For all this, and for my great kids, I am thankful.

Hubster has been bringing our neighbor to church.  For the past two weeks, Neighbor has driven the two of them (since I go early to work the check-in desk).  Before the service started, Neighbor gave me a hug and wished me a great day.  Then, as we were talking, he mentioned he'd bought a Bible that he could understand the past week.  He wanted to start reading to find out more about what this Christianity thing is.

The service was phenomenal, even more so than usual.  And the message?  It had a great deal to do with beginning to read the Bible - getting your fingerprints on the pages.  A Bible reading guide was even introduced for those who were new to the idea.

Neighbor was blown away.  He couldn't believe that it was just coincidence.

For this, for Neighbor, and for my church, I am truly thankful.

Hubster made steak and potatoes for lunch, and The Girl made a killer salad.  Then, in the middle of lunch, The Girlfriend showed up.  She had crafted a vase for flowers and put a bunch of gerbera daisies in it for me.  She also gave me a bag of chocolate truffles.

She stayed for the remainder of the meal and the whole family had a great conversation about everything under the sun.  You can't buy times like these...times spent with your husband and children, times with those you love.  Not for all the money in the world.

For this and so much more, I am thankful.

What about you?

The Bounty

A month or so ago I read a blog by Mary of Owlhaven regarding a food co-op.  I had no idea what a food co-op was, but today I found out.

Bountiful Baskets is the co-op I tried.  For $15 per basket plus $1.50 handling fee, you can have all this:

My basket had 4 ears of corn, 2 artichokes, a bunch of broccoli, a bag of apples, 3 cucumbers, a head of cabbage, a cantaloupe, a small watermelon, 2 large heads of romaine lettuce, four bananas and three green peppers.  All of it was very fresh and very good quality.

Organic baskets are available for $10 more, and they have side items you can purchase as well.  This week you could get 5 loaves of organic bread, apricots, strawberries and other things as extras.  They run over and above your basket cost.

More than one basket can be purchased at a time, if you can carry it all!

I'm considering this a win all the way around.

Since it's a co-op, all the money collected goes to buy food at discount prices.  You order starting at noon on the week you're supposed to pick up your food, and you have through Tuesday to get it in.  Our baskets were filled by volunteers when the truck came in this morning.  If we are physically able we are asked to volunteer once every 7 times.

After all the baskets were filled, each person checked in and signed to show they received theirs.  The baskets were numbered, and we just went to our basket and filled our own bags.

Very simple, very easy.

And to think I got all of the stuff above for $15 warms the cockles of my heart.

By the way, I'm not being paid in any way to tell you about this.  I just think it's a dang good idea and wanted to share.

Carry on.