I'll Paint {if I want to}

I definitely have more to share about Vegas.  But today, I want to share about my weekend.  Several weekends ago I wrote about painting a coffee cup at the local Painting Party Studio.  You know the one where my Dad said my cup looked like a hat?  Yeah.  Well, I said I had plans for that painting and the plans didn't include being/staying framed.  I'm still thinking on that.

But as you can see, I did feel compelled to try again.  This time on my own.

I woke up yesterday with two things on my mind:  1.  Hanging Out with my sister {the middle sister, that doesn't like her photo taken}. And  2. Finally doing the art project I had in my head for weeks.

My Birthday Week

Guess where I was last week.  Before I break the suspense and tell you...did I mention that it was my birthday?  Yep.  My birthday was celebrated in VEGAS!

I gotta tell you last week's party week was just perfect. We stayed in the Bellagio and the photo above was taken from our window.  How cool was that?  We got to see the wonderful water and light show from our window every night.

The Hubster's siblings have a tradition of getting together for a few days to celebrate "big" birthdays. This was my year. Hub's sister was able to come for the celebration too.  Hub's brother and our sis in law couldn't come this time.  I know they are disappointed...I know this because they said, "I'm disappointed". {Smile} But the good news is that this means we will get to celebrate together a second time.  So, I get two birthday parties {so to speak}.

On our first Vegas day, we visited the Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art.  The current show is featuring Monet along with his contemporaries.  The works are on loan to the Bellagio from the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston.

I felt doubly lucky that we were in the museum when the docent-led presentation.

My SIL and I spent the second day in a CABANA!! {Complete with snacks, beverages and a Cabana Person}  This was my idea of complete indulgence. I wanted to spend some time outside but couldn't fathom being in the sun with only sunscreen and a hat keeping me from burning.

The morning was spent lounging under the canopy of the cabana.  I sank into the chaise and was so relaxed that my body melted into the cushions.  Pure heaven.

We also enjoyed the pool, which cooled us off nicely.  It was a perfect day.  The entire week felt like everything a vacation should be. Both fun and relaxing.

We carved out "me" time for sipping tea and reading my book.  It has been forever since I indulged in a book.

What am I reading?  The new Anna Quindlen book.  I haven't finished reading it yet.  I was so relaxed naps were interspersed between chapters.

And now, we get to celebrate a wonderful Three Day weekend.  Hope you have a good one!!

Cheers,
~Kimberly

We All Have A Writing Story

As I thought about what I wanted to write, the thing that kept coming to me was I wanted to talk about writing. Specifically my writing story.

I used to journal writing intermittently in my adolescence.  I struggled with being “real” in my personal writing. I really wanted to avoid the angst-filled teenage diary.  Not sure what that was about. Perhaps I was self-censoring because of the thought that one day my diary would be discovered.

Also, there was a period of time that was so deeply sad that to write about it felt like a betrayal. And to write about anything else felt like a different betrayal.   –You know in sitcoms when a girlfriend tells the boyfriend something sad (like a couple of their friends broke up). The girlfriend is clearly upset and wants to commiserate.  The boyfriend? Not so much. He’s like, are you gonna finish your pie? And she’s like: how can you think about food at a time like this?  It was like that.

Many years ago, I went to see Anne Lamott speak about writing. [Side note: If you get the chance to see her speak, take it! ] I fell in love with her when I read “Operating Instructions” a story about the first year of her son’s life. I absolutely loved this book. It captured the sweetness and the raw emotions that are mothering. Anyway...I remember her saying that we should do two things in life:  1) Always eat dessert.  (Because life is short). And 2) write as though your family is already dead. –That seems a little harsh. I really wanted to paraphrase that to say “family will never read this”, but she really said “dead”. I suppose the writing would be different if you wrote as if they were dead. To be honest, I have not been able to do that. I can’t.  –So okay, although I’m a writer, I’m not an Anne Lamott writer.

Natalie Goldberg, in "Writing Down the Bones" says, “Go for the jugular”. Write about the thing that hurts.  And go all the way. Eeek. I don’t like this advice either.

So,  I say, “Write what you want to write”. And, if you don’t want to write about sad things...don’t. If you do want to write about sad things...do.

Many “how to write,” writers say “if you can talk, you can write”. Everyone has the right to create. There are no special skills and no secret society that decides if you are worthy to be a writer. If you want to write and you write, then you are a writer.

My day job (career) is not writing but writing has helped me in everything I do. Writing has helped me formulate my ideas and be able to articulate them to others. {I write out my thoughts before a meeting so that I feel prepared.  –I don’t have to take the notes into the meeting...it is the writing that makes me confident that I understand the issues and can present my thoughts.}

Away from work, I always wrote letters (epic)! I wrote Newsletters: (Christmas Newsletters, Church News Letters, Book Club Newsletters). If I was participating in something I was always happy to be the scribe.

Then one day, someone asked me point-blank: “Are you a writer”. Wow! That question was a turning point. Was I going to go public with it? “Yes”, I said, “yes I am”.

Since then I began to take my writing more seriously. I write more often and take advantage of more writing opportunities.  I even wrote for my employer's magazine. {That was exhilarating and scary at the same time. It was a slick magazine shared throughout the entire company.}

I participated in the National Novel Writing Month. Yes, I completed a work of fiction. It is something I wouldn't share with anyone in its current state.  But I actually challenged myself and now have an IDEA {only an idea} of what it takes to write the first draft of a novel.  

Someone I knew once said, "If something is worth doing, it's worth doing badly." I thought I had misheard until he went on to explain: Many of us are frozen, afraid to do something poorly.  When, if it is really worth doing, it is worth doing regardless of the end result. First attempts are not supposed to be perfect. We miss a lot of life {and a lot of writing} by holding ourselves to high standards before we even begin. 

So I say to you:  Write Often and Write On!  What's more, I say: ENJOY the process.

Judging a Book by its Cover

I'm sharing the Guest Post I wrote for Mia Hayson at Literary Jam and Toast in February.  So, sit back, relax, and agree with me.

SOURCE 

I don't think I'm alone in this when I say, "You should judge a book by its cover".  That should be the goal of the book publisher and marketer (and even the writer).  The best books are the ones that delivered on its promises.

Good writing is best when the reader is ready for it. So, if you want a reader to be satisfied, it's important that you properly set their expectations.  This absolutely does not mean eliminating surprise (s).  

All good entertainment begins with a good set up.  Movies have their trailers and their posters. Blockbuster movies become blockbuster because they deliver what they promise.  Writers and Readers have a similar implied contract.  I'm not saying writers should just "give 'em what they want".  Instead, I'm saying: "tell 'em what you're going to give 'em".  Then, you can "make 'em want what you're going to give 'em". 

I love being entertained. I love my fav. TV shows. I love football and I love a really good movie. I love being able to be completely immersed in the story. Right now, my favorite movies are thrillers. The test of a good movie (especially in a thriller) is if my suspension of disbelief lasted from the opening title to the ending credits. 

Of course, I like comedies too. But comedies are rarely a safe bet.  I'm a tough critic. I feel cheated if a movie isn't what it promised. I feel cheated if I went to see a comedy and it turned out to be a drama with some funny scenes.  It's worse if all of the funny scenes were in the previews.  Then none of the funniness is a surprise. Surprise is a big KEY for funny.

It may sound like I don't like DRAMAs but I like dramas {in movies}. I just need to be mentally prepared. If I'm expecting a comedy I'm disappointed if it is really a drama instead.  It's like when you order an iced tea at a restaurant and when you take the first sip you realize it's soda. Not okay!

What about Romantic Comedies? These are almost always billed correctly, a little light entertainment with some laughter and romantic chemistry thrown in. These are the ultimate in feel-good movies.  Romantic Comedies are the TIC TACs of movies.  ~A nice refreshing taste that doesn't linger too long.

Like I said, I love football.  So for me, the Super Bowl is all about the game.  But the really funny commercials are important to the whole Super Bowl experience.  On Monday there are just as many conversations about the commercials as there are about the game. 

This year, my favorite commercial is "don't have a grandson with a dog collar".  I hate my cable service. As far as I'm concerned, these warnings to give up cable could almost be public service announcements.   These announcements (ads) warn of the bad things that can happen when you have cable. Bad things like a "grandson with a dog collar" or "waking up in a roadside ditch". 

As writers, we can learn from the pitfalls of movies masquerading as something they are not. In the case of writing, you don't have to know in the first draft what "it's gonna be". But by the end, you should know what "it is" and sell it that way. When I say sell it, I mean in the re-writes drive "it" home.  Believe it so that the reader can believe it.

Those "Give Up Cable" commercials epitomize "going there". It's outrageous, but they sold it. And sold it convincingly. Do whatever it takes in your writing to "go there".  Even if it means someone has to end up in a ditch with an eye patch. 

Ranger Raccoon

So, my steadfast Hubby continued the vigil to "catch" Ranger in the act and take photos.  I wanted to tease Hubs to ask if we were going to share the pics with authorities...a "beware this thief is on the lose" type public service announcement.  But, we've come to think of Ranger in a friendly manner.  We do take the fact that he is a wild animal seriously.  We make sure that we give him ample "warning" before we go outside...you know...tapping on the window, saying things like "I'm getting ready to go outside"....saying this pretty loud so that even the neighbor's dog can hear us.  --We don't want to be in the yard at the same time that Ranger is there. And I definitely don't want my dog out there when Ranger is there either.

My dog is so extroverted that there is a chance that he would think this masked man/animal was a new playmate. That would not be good.

But, for now, "It is what it is", which means some kind of cool photo opportunities.

All Ranger photos are by the Hubster. I am using them here with his permission.  I found this "poster" app on Lunapic and just couldn't resist making a poster...you know like those cheesy inspirational {though cheesy} Motivational Posters.   As I said, I just couldn't help myself.

Guess Who Is A Regular Visitor

You may remember we had a surprise visitor earlier this Spring Hubby vigilantly sat on a stakeout to discover who was eating the bird food during the night. The squirrels were quite bold, but we were pretty sure that they are not nocturnal.

I gotta tell you, I have a {healthy} fear of raccoons.  I know they look cute in the Lone Ranger mask but I'm pretty sure that they can bite the sh*t out of someone.

Hubby and I were curious if Ranger {yeah, we named him} would come back. We hoped not....but we also sort of hoped so. We wanted to get some pics of this guy.  Do you remember how seriously he took the challenge to outsmart Pesky Squirrel?  Well, Ranger has proven to be a different sort of challenge.  After the undeniable proof that we had a raccoon stealing our songbird's food, we felt a duty to bring in the feeders each night.  We hypothesized that after finding no food for several nights Ranger would move on.

Taking in the feeders is sort of tricky for timing.  The birds are still out singing and coming to the feeder until dusk is over. We don't want to discourage them from eating, so we wait for them to become quiet before bringing in the feeders.  The thing about that is that it is often already dark and sometimes we forget.  But for at least a week, the feeder remained full overnight, so we thought, yep, Ranger moved on to another food source.

On Friday night, Jacob {poodle} and I were sitting on the couch watching TV when both Jacob and I heard a sort of clatter outside.  It's Spring, so we knew it wasn't Santa. I said to hubby:  "Hubby did you hear that?  It sounded close...like in the yard or something".  So hubby went to the window, turned on the floodlight, and Ranger was on top of the feeder.  He stopped, looked at hubby and evaluated if we were coming outside. He decided we weren't, so he went right back to eating.

Hubby wanted to get a "good" pic of this wild animal in our yard. But of course, his camera was not in the kitchen (where we can seem Ranger from the window). Hubs went about getting his camera and when he came back to photograph Ranger was climbing down from the feeder and left.  Hubs couldn't believe he missed the shot.

When I came home from work the next day, I noticed a tripod and camera set up at the kitchen window.  I didn't say anything. I knew that Hubs was going to ensure he was "ready" for the next raccoon encounter.

I LOVE MOTHER'S DAY

The little cherub to the left is how I joined the Mother's Day Club. {This photo is the day we were leaving the hospital.} This was just the beginning of the motherhood adventure.  This little, little person has grown up to be a lovely young woman. And, yes, as her mother, I deserve ALL the credit. {Thank you...thank you very much.}

Of course, mother's day is not just about me.  It is a day where I can reflect on the Mothers I have been blessed with.

I am Margaret's firstborn.  This makes me the "good one".

I'm Not a Morning Person

Notice anything different in this pic? Other than the really poor quality photo {iPhone camera}. My lip is purple and swollen. Yeah, it's undeniable. I have a fat lip.

Here is what happened. This morning, before my alarm went off, I woke up to my dog wheezing.  {This cute dog here}  Anyway, Jacob was wheezing and coughing and sounded like a cat dealing with a hairball.  Hairballs, wheezing and coughing never ends well.



My auto-response was "Oh,*@!* NO!"  I was not about to have to deal with the results of doggie hairball in my bedroom.  If a hairball is going to occur, it needs to occur in the bathroom. {Everyone knows that.}

So, I jumped out of bed, grabbed the dog and proceeded to run to the bathroom.

Did I tell you that I was wearing socks? Yes, sleepy me running into bathroom {dog in hand} and when my socked feet hit the vinyl floor my body was on a forward trajectory as I was also falling to the ground. Basically, once I fell, my body was still moving forward like a torpedo!  The only thing that stopped this human missile from sliding was ...the bathroom cabinet. Yes, my head crashed into the cabinet. I hit my head (and still have a headache) and bit my lip.

Hubby was awakened by the sound of my fall. Here is what he heard:  "Bum...bum bum. Head
hitting hard surface".  "Ow".

Poor dog was traumatized, though NOT hurt.  His wheezing was scared out of him and he insisted that he was completely fine.

Lessons?  Wake Hubby any time dog coughs during the night.  I am not qualified to handle this.