Life Happens!

I had gotten into a routine in July: wake up - feed the dog - make coffee - grab the remote and computer.

Then I'd catch up with the shows I DVRed and read/work-on Teachers Write blogs and writing.

It was still dark outside, and everyone was asleep so I could focus on my stuff.

THEN I went to Mom's - vacation - 9 days! The first day or two I did pretty well. I got up, grabbed my computer, sat at the table, and got to work on school stuff, Teachers Write, and blog reading.

Mom was asleep. Dad was already at work. No dog to feed. Well....not one I needed to feed.

Day 3.

I laid in bed and looked at the trees - identifying each one - lemon - mandarin - banana.

I listened to the birds.

Finally, dragged myself out of bed. Played with the cats. Looked at Mom's books. Played on the computer. Meandered around her living room, backyard and front yard trying to name the different plants and trees. Despite my not-so-green thumb, I could name quite a few - ponytail plant, artichoke, tomato, bromeliad, airplane plant, lime, lemon, mandarin, banana, weeds, and roses.

Then play with the dog, let the cats out, then watch some tv.

The rest of my visit, my mornings went pretty much the same!

I may not have stayed on top of blog reading and writing, but I left Mom's totally rested and looking forward to my next visit in September!

This break from my usual routine made me realize that if I'm going to blog the way I want to, I need to keep a routine of sorts. I need to have a place and time to write.  That might mean getting up a little earlier or staying up a little later on weekends. Hopefully, during school, that will mean, working during the kids writing workshop time, so I can model writing for my kids.

Sincerely,

Reluctant Writer

A Slice of Life in Louisiana

I'm home for the week. I got here last Saturday at 10:15 am, after leaving home at 4:00 am-ish. I enjoy getting up early and driving; it's quiet, and there's not much traffic. The sunrise is amazing!! And so is the lightning.

I was born and raised in the Texas hill country and am definitely a Texas girl. I've lived in New Mexico and Kansas, but Texas is definitely home, unless I'm with my parents in Louisiana, then that's home.

What makes my parent's house in Louisiana "home"?

*The marble board made by a a great great great on the table ready for a game between me and Mom

*The plants....so many plants (and they're ALIVE!!)

*Mom and Dad

*Going to the gun range with Dad

*Sleeping in

*A calm and relaxed, stress-free feeling

*Cooking, sewing, shopping with Mom. This visit we finished my son's quilt by tufting it.

*My fur sister, Callie

AND

*ALL THE BOOKS (this shows not even a quarter of the books at home)

This morning we will be doing some cleaning and organizing at my brother's house. He works offshore and isn't home too much, so his house kinda shows it. 

A few more days to enjoy the calm and quiet before heading home to get ready for school.

Sincerely,

Reluctant Writer

Slice of Life: "Just Another Manic Monday" ......

...to quote The Bangles.

My son's car has THREE recalls on it! A window master something, an airbag, and then something else (must not be life-threatening, or I'm sure I'd remember. Monday was THE day I was getting my wedding ring back after taking it in to be resized. After many years, I had decided it was time to do it, so I could wear it, again! Up to this point, I'd been wearing random rings on my ring finger, but was ready to take the plunge. I was expecting it to cost HUNDREDS to resize it, but a half size and $65 later, it would be on my hand!! 

I woke up Monday, called the Toyota dealership, and they could fit me in at 7:30; it was 7:10. "We'll be there!"  Then we'd go to my son's dentist appointment, then go pick up my ring! 

We opened the garage door, and.......NOTHING! IT WOULDN'T OPEN! My son's car is in the garage. We tried in vain to get it open. Even trying to do it manually wouldn't get it open! I called Toyota, let them know the car was stuck in the garage, and I'd call back if we  got it out.  M and I went to breakfast, instead. I mean.... we were up and dressed, so why not? 

Then we went to the grocery store where M looked at me wide-eyed and said, "You've got THE BREAD. THE BREAD FOR GRILLED CHEESE SANDWICHES." My reply: "Yes, I do. Go get cheese. Whatever kind you want." He perused the sliced cheese and came back with.......colby jack. We got back home, tried the garage, again and still nothing.  I made M his grilled cheese (doctored up cream cheese and sliced cheese. It really is quite wonderful. Got the idea from a little restaurant in Kansas), then....

I called Sears, and they'll be out today to the tune of $300.....

The dentist appointment? One small cavity and a permanent retainer wire broken in two places. $225-275 to replace the retainer. Do I go further out (about a 30-45 minute drive to the orthodontist he hasn't seen in over to save $50?) Or stay here in town and pay $50 for convenience? Since it won't happen until September when we're all back at school, I'm leaning toward convenience....

Oh, my ring? Yeah.....Didn't get that yesterday. Probably won't today. Maybe tomorrow. In the meantime, I'll go through school stuff I brought home and Netflix binge "Stranger Things".

Sincerely,

Reluctant Writer

Teachers Write: Similes

***WARNING: This isn't perfect. It's learning in progress***

This quick-write was about comparisons, specifically similes.  These are the first two instructions given by Liz Garton Scanlon, the guest author for this quick-write.

"1. Brainstorm a list of emotional or physical states (jealousy, joy, fear, hunger, anger, excitement, worry, confidence, sadness, etc.) Put each word on a little slip of paper and have everyone in the group pick one. (If it’s just you, give yourself a nice choice of words or, better yet, have someone write them for you.)

2. Now, brainstorm a list of both natural and manmade objects (pillow, rock, waterfall, TV, table, blender, forest fire, river, puddle, book, bar of soap, etc.) Put each word on a little slip of paper and have everyone in the group pick one."

Since I had just come back from California, I chose the two things that popped into my head as a read each instruction:

Relaxing and crashing waves

Next, I had to write the simile:                     Relaxation is like a crashing wave.

Here comes the tough part. I have to make this a TRUE statement!!

Relaxing                                    Both                                 Crashing Waves

Quiet usually                                   Different stages                     Loud                                                                     Can be movement                                                                         Always movement 

And there we are. Now, I need to explain it. 

Relaxation is like a crashing wave. They both have different stages.     

And that's all I've got. Everything else only seemed to make sense in my head. "They are peace-inducing." That doesn't even make sense here. But this was my thinking: waves come in seemingly slowly, then grow, and crash into the shore; relaxation begins deliberately. We sit down, then maybe pick up a book or a remote, then, if you're anything like me....you're asleep! Stages....

Sincerely, 

Reluctant Writer

Thoughts on Writing, reluctantly

I attended two days of #cisdlitcamp at the beginning of the summer, which is how I got started with the blogging. I'm also participating in Teachers Write 2016.

#Cisdlitcamp focused on writing and reading. Writing what we wanted to write,as long as we wrote. We reflected; we did book talks; we started a blog. A blog for anything. So far mine has two somewhat random ones, one post for Teachers Write, and then my vacation posts.

Teachers Write seems to be more about writing stories, which is good for me. It makes me think more outside the box and outside my comfort zone. No one can judge my vacation writing (I hope, anyway), but people can think my story ideas are stupid or don't make sense. That's where I feel vulnerable, so, maybe that's where I need to focus. I'm writing the ideas down in my writer's notebook; I'm posting in the comments of the various blogs, maybe a day or two later, but I need to let the ideas simmer.

I realized that maybe this story place is where I'm reluctant, and that's what I'll try to work on. This means that my blog will be a mixture of story, vacation, school, books, and whatever else I put on here. Maybe it's a picture or quote that struck me.

Happy Saturday!! Maybe I'll go back to my comfort zone and put up another California post later!

Sincerely,

Reluctant Writer