I Won NANOWRIMO!

Hello fellow humans,

I have done it! I have stuck to my guns and finished not one but two novels for the month of NANOWRIMO. I am so proud of myself I could send myself cigars, flowers, candy, and balloons because I never finish anything! I always get halfway and something takes me away from what I am doing, then I lose my interest. This year I couldn’t let anything stop me. I realized at the halfway point when I started lagging that I had to keep going. I sometimes grinned and beared it. The time I logged in at was 11:59:59 which was the last available second that you could upload and still win. I kept having to refresh the server and it almost forced me to abandon ship. Luckily I stayed true to myself  and kept at it until it got accepted.

How did I do it you ask? well I very seldom left the computer and lived mostly on chocolate and coffee or whatever was cooked by the family or someone/anyone other than myself the whole month.
Yes I know- you are probably wondering but what about my health?

Well, all in all I say I gained about ten mean pounds and halfway through it my old dog broke her wrist but once I quickly got her taken care of I jumped back into the swing of things with writing
again.

It didn’t take me long to catch back up, even allowing myself the time to enter a Jane Austin Writing Contest as well. That took 2,500 words out of my talley for the day so many a good long dark cold nights were spent clickity clicking while the rest of the family slept soundly in their beds. I made it up though and have several nice novels finished to prove it. The main thing one has to focus on before NANOWRIMO ever starts is to have a general plot so that when the time comes to buckle down you have a general idea of which way that you are going with the novel.

I managed to keep up with my daughter’s lesson plans and the only thing that really got cast aside was the social networks. When I discovered how much time we were spending there (both my daughter after school and I) we agreed to skip them for the whole month completely. Now that the month is over I may go to update my status but not to visit for very long periods because it is so time consuming. Why didn’t I realize this before? Things like waiting onc rops to grow to harvest on farmville and other such games.

I can’t say that I plan on doing the whole novel in a month thing for a third year in a row next year but who knows. Only time will tell. It was fun. In a dragging me behind a truck kicking and screaming kind of way. And it gave me the motivation that I really needed to show myself once and for all that I am a writer. I feel like I could sleep for a whole week straight.

All is well.
You are loved.

More of this and none of that :(

Dear Diary.

I am finding some quiet time alone after a long grueling day of harvesting rose hips with my daughter. She just turned Nine so I figure that it is time to start teaching her how to make medicinals, syrups, tinctures, and elixirs.

We had a great time and a new cat in the neighborhood found its way to where we were working and stopped long enough to say hello to us. It was a pretty tabby with a big collar and a large bell which royally annoyed our local farm birds. They wouldn’t leave the poor little thing alone for anything. Even as it left the yard I could still hear the family of birds growling at it from the nearby trees.

I went to the creek looking for some Deer Tongue plant but still no luck. No Nettles and no Deer Tongue. *sigh* These two things have always been my livelihood and it is so unlikely to not find them near the water’s edge.

A few of my other favorites are Oatstraw, Red Clover, Elderberry, Echinacea.

Here we have been digging out the packed away blankets only to find one night is freezing cold and the next is still quite warm so it has been off again and on again for a week straight. Currently we are expecting snow tonight and it is raining and freezing at the same time. I feel the cold in my bones. I hear it whispering and howling to me from around the window sills. I have contemplated buying a snuggie this year to keep me warm while writing. At first I laughed when they came out…now I totally see the purpose of them. Especially the electric ones.

A friend in India asked if we wanted to join in on their Diwali celebration so after we finished picking rose hips and cooking them we started making some Diwali designs on construction paper.
With basic paintbrushes this turned out to be harder than it looked but after an hour or so of painting we managed to finish the project.

For Halloween my daughter didn’t feel all that great so she suggested that we stay in and make some chocolate dipped apples with coconut sprinkles on top. I say again she is only Nine.

She has got some really remarkable talents. I am so proud of her.

She has a natural gift for coming up with some superb recipes all on her own. This afternoon she made some lemon sugar cookies with pretty caramel colored sugar on top of them.

Wild Horses couldn’t drag me away from this year’s Nanowrimo but I needed a break and went shopping yesterday at World Market and Pier One Imports for some me time. Ah sweet retail. How I miss thee.

Sadly it put me 500 words behind on my schedule so now I am busy doing this instead of doing that and have gotten bummed about alienating myself away from all of my friends and only living on iced cappuccinos and chocolate confectionery for the duration of the month. I am hungry for a man sized steak and I’m already tired of writing.

Bwahhha!

The Leaves of Fall

There is such beautiful weather outside I decided to snap some pics this morning.

This is a favorite hiding spot for the deer.  The yearling has two new fawns.

The feeder is just behind me in this pic.

My favorite leaves have always been maple trees and the red leaves of fall.

Some Wise and Sagely advise…

Some Wise and Sagely advise from my friend Zeenat,

A guest post.

There are 2 types of memories:

Good memories- The memories that make you happy, make you smile and make you want to relive that moment over and over again, each time making you happier and happier. Good memories help you regain your confidence, make you feel better about everything in you and around you.

Bad memories- The memories that make you un-happy and bring forth a very strong pain in the heart. You can’t help but cry..and usually you stay in this state for a whole day or week or even a month. A bad memory is like a scar on your heart. The more you fidget(think) with the scar, the deeper and more painful it becomes. When you apply an ointment and leave the scar alone, the faster it heals.

Sometimes, its a smell, sometimes its just a color, sometimes its probably a date on the calendar….anything can spark a memory. Good or bad…memories are there and they can’t be undone. In-fact you being the star of all your memories, its hard to forget too. But, who says you have to forget. You should remember…its part of your healing process.

The bad memories though, are like scars on your heart and soul. If they come and bring you intense pain, sadness and leave you with an inability to function for a set period of time-you NEED to heal them! HOW?

How to Heal Past Bad Memories?

Don’t be too daunted, its not difficult and certainly not impossible. It just takes a bit of will power on your part.

Here are a few points you should remember and start working on. These will work like the ointments on those past scars and help them heal:

1. Be Conscious at all times- Which literally means, don’t think on autopilot. Sometimes we are just going through our day literally automatically. In order to make sure, your bad memories don’t crop up unexpectedly and cause you to spoil your day, you need to consciously think. Example-when you wake up, in your mind tell yourself, today will be a good day. While brushing your teeth, think about brushing your teeth, not about something else…and so on. Be in the Present moment as much as possible. It will take some practice on your part, but you will master this. When you are in the NOW, no past can hinder your growth in this very moment. No past bad memory can control your today, unless you let it. The choice is ultimately yours.

2. Forgive the bad memory and all in it- If a bad memory does come up, don’t shoot it down. Let it come up, let it bring up whatever feelings it has to. But, cause you are now consciously thinking and aware of it, try and deduce why this particular memory is causing you so much heartache. Usually its either you blame yourself or someone else. You need to forgive yourself and whoever is in that memory. Consciously forgive. You need to physically if possible write this memory down on a piece of paper..in as much detail as possible. Let it bring up emotions. Once this particular memory is on paper, read it and then tear this paper into tiny tiny bits and either throw it in the bin or in a near by pond or river..all the while forgiving yourself and all in that memory. If at first you mentally find it difficult to forgive its ok. Repeat this action as many times with the same memory as possible. Usually it wont take you more that 2 paper tears to get over it. This whole process lets you forgive and release all negativity from your system, thereby speeding up your internal healing and letting your true self emerge. That self which was hidden under the layers of negativity & painful memories.

With the above two ways, you will be able to get over all those bad memories you have stored within you, which are literally a hindrance in your potential growth. When you let go of these bad memories, you make space within you for so much love, peace and positivity. Which in the grand scheme of living your authentic life and finding your true calling are milestones for knowing your true self.

The best part of this process is, you are now thinking positive thoughts. You are now making positive memories. In a few years from now, when you think back to this time of your life, you will have only good memories and will be free of those haunting bad memories. I’m not saying you wont have any bad experiences in life..  of course you will, but your internal positive health will help you bounce back faster. It will make you stronger.

So, are you ready to fill your life with positivity and Know your truest self?

Take action NOW! Its all in YOU and only you.

I LOVE her blog posts!

Zeenat’s website is http://www.positiveprovocations.com

Finding Inspiration wherever the wind blows

Hello Dear Ones,

It has been a while since I have written here. Being a healer left me little time in the past for creative pursuits, however when my own health became worn down from extreme stress and very little rest and relaxation, I discovered that I have a few health maladies I began to see things in a whole new way. I had to start finding an outlet for my burning passions. With great honor I am delighted to inform you that I have been turned on to the new fad called “Shabby Chic”.

Of course I had no idea that this existed before until recently so imagine how delighted I was to discover it. My Belated Grandmother would have probably called it “antiquing” or something similar. And on that note I go on the record for saying that I have never been one for Antiques or anything just plain “old” until now. I am finding a whole new love affair with things that are old and worn.

I love the rustic worn look of distressed wood flooring and white washed furniture.

Soul Food

It is good for us to think that no grace or blessing is truly ours till we are aware that God has blessed some one else with it through us. ~ Phillips Brooks

Dear Diary,

I. What a weekend! I survived my first official sleepover! My daughter surprises me with a unplanned sleepover by last night I thought the kids were moving in they had gotten so comfortable. The first night they stayed up all night laughing and screaming and singing, then come 2PM the next day they finally fell asleep. It is the law of gravity. What stays up must eventually go down.
I offered to make them lunch in which they chose the standard tween diet of chips, kool-aid, and cookies instead. So much for trying to be super mom.

II. So Sunday morning I could take no more tween-ness and set forth out in my pajamas into the five acres of wilderness to harvest the blackberries. Looks like they may be all finished by the end of August. Which has me wondering what the baby birds will eat come fall. Birds depend on the berries for food. I will have to put out extra feeders this year in order to compensate.

III. Five hours and four gallons of blackberries later I was so exhausted I had to almost limp home. I didn’t think I would ever make it back up the 1/4th mile hill in the back yard. Contemplated falling down dead a few times just to rest but was too afraid of being eaten by wild animals. Bending over at the awkward angle and reaching out beyond my “green zone” I’m sure is what did me in. Once I was certain I stepped on poison ivy but dismissed it along with the silent phantoms of being followed and the curse of the lady in the listening tree, and sure enough the leaves of three let it be got a hold on me. Now I am covered around my ankles all the way to my shoulders with little fierce itchy red spots. Go me!

IV. In the place I call the pine forest where I have never been before there was large boulders and if you went a few steps farther you come to the neighbor’s abandoned cabin near the water and his back yard that I have never noticed before. It is a completely remote five acres of pure heaven with the trees completely surrounding it on all sides so you wouldn’t even notice it there from the road.

So many things in my life have gone wonky but this is not one of them. What a beautiful little deer sanctuary this is! I would love to know who the people are and come into enough money to buy that place as well as this and just live at the water. Never be found again except by friends with good GPS systems. Such beauty is the air that I breathe. I will never give up being an eccentric. Along the piney floor and through the wandering path it brings on the true essence of walking with God. I have been here three years now, why haven’t I noticed this oasis before?

My five-six word memoir Haiku of it would be: Piney thoughts and green needles covered, waters edge wooden precipice drink in,wandering poet no snakes finds heaven, world beyond quiet mind mused inspiration, rock holds knowledge of the world, shadowed logs barren womb grateful dancing,

V. A walk like that makes me crave pastels and oil paintings and photography blogs of water.

VI. While out I saw the mother turkey and a new little baby following her faithfully. I never see the male but surely he must reside somewhere close by because she is continually having broods of young by someone somewhere?

VII. All of the suffering of the day was well worth it because I made a blackberry cake, blackberry muffins for the girls, oatmeal cookies, and a blackberry cobbler for later then gave myself a reiki treatment and fell into a hard nap like there was no tomorrow. I have made my peace for this day.

Well, back to my mind mapping program and editing my idailydiary program.

When water is pure and sparkling clear,
Your see straight to the bottom
When your mind holds no concern,
No circumstance can turn you
And once your mind doesn’t stray,
A kalpa has no changes.
From such awareness nothing hides.

- Han shan

You are loved.
All is well.