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Showing posts from 2018

End of Year Encouragement

I'm writing this for myself as much as I'm writing this for you. Think you didn't get done, or didn't accomplish, or didn't make, or didn't have, or didn't overcome -- fill in the blank, this year? Don't give up. Time is just time. And all things are possible outside of time. For me, the end of year always culminates in me wondering what I wrote, if anything and did I have any of these writing published? Of course, being published doesn't equal success ... and yet, sometimes it does. There's a ton of writing I do that no one will ever see. Not just because I didn't send it out into the world, but because no one wants it. Yep. It isn't the right fit (or it really isn't any good) and I have to keep looking for the right home for the piece. I'm always, always reminding myself I'm in the rejection business. Because it gets old, this whole rejection thing. Yet, if you know it's part of the job, it's manageabl

Pennies From Heaven -- Part Two

I'm not sure if you remember, but a little over a year ago, I wrote a post about Pennies. ◄ (not just) Penny Jar  Namely, finding the small -- very inconsequential -- things of life and not only making them an intentional part of your life, but making them a gift. To yourself. These gifts are everywhere -- if we're willing to look past our own negative expectations. Here's the jar today. After a year of doing this, of not passing up a penny when I just happened to walked by one, or picked one up at my feet as I got out of the car, I've changed. Here's how: 1. Expansion : It didn't just stop with pennies, it became dimes and nickels and quarters. And then it became dollars. And then jewelry and keys! There were more gifts around than I thought. I began to find dollars and five dollar bills in the vintage clothing I sold at my Etsy shop. It became comical. My oldest would walk to his car after school and pick up dollars on the ground in front of

Make a List │ Getting Things Done

Like many of you, I am a list-maker. I find them to be one of the most rewarding things I can do in my little life. Well, that and drinking coffee and wearing vintage. But, I digress. List-making really only consists of three things: paper, a pen, and your brain. While there are myriad articles and books on tidying up and minimal living (both of which I fully embrace), living a simple and minimal life can also start just by making a list. So, why should you write a list? Three reasons: it's simple, it's in front of you, and anyone can be master of their world with one. Yes, dare I say master of your universe. Pretty amazing, right? That little list holds your sanity, order and clarity. And those are all we really need. Check out this list I wrote the other day: I listed the errands I had to run (go to post office, then to Salvation Army and Goodwill to find my vintage to sell). I listed the work I had to do (list two items items for sale on my vintage Etsy site,

Overused Words │ Part Deux

Gahhhhh! That's me yelling at my Kindle because I'm re-reading an overused word in a New York Times best-selling book by a best-selling author. Gahhhhh! That's me yelling again  because said writer should know better ... even if the rules don't apply to him because he's uber-famous and can do what he wants. But, I -- the reader -- noticed! I saw the repeated words. And I'm annoyed. Readers read to get away; to dive into the book and enjoy; to escape-- not to question the author's choice of words. Okay, let me open up here. The book is John Grisham's latest thriller, The Rooster Bar.  Per usual, it's a great read, is super easy to get into, and has awesome, three-dimensional characters (even though you could swap characters from book to book and it would work seamlessly). But, the word he overused is: evidently. This word can be perfect to use. Say, once every other chapter, if needed. But it's one of those adverbs that shouldn&#

Increasing Your Vocabulary │ Overused Words

My husband and I have this running joke that if we played a drinking game for the first -- and only the first-- five minutes of any news segment, anywhere in America, we'd be under the table in two. Why? Because this drinking game is based on the repeated use of the word "impact." It's okay if you can hate me now. Because after this post, you will notice this word EVERYWHERE and how overused it is. I get it. The word is impactful. It makes a point. Pulls a punch. But ... it's beyond this, my friends. It's overwhelmingly beyond this now. I also understand that each decade has it's colloquial and trendy words. Totally understand that. I can dig that, yo. But, there's an all-out assault on this word. And most of the time, it's used incorrectly. Do you know what the word impact means? Per Merriam-Webster, it means 1.   a.: to fix firmly by or as if by packing or wedging   b.: to press together 2.   a.: to have a direct effect or i

Seasonal Seasons

Life is full of seasons, even in sunny northern California. Which is remarkable. Maybe we don't get all that cold here in Sacramento, but some mornings are below freezing and I know for a fact we'll have days this summer hovering close to 110 degrees. But, life is full of emotional and spiritual seasons, too. Change, growth, loss, newfound passions, love, or jobs.  All of this is -- and will be -- a part of our lives, whether we like it or not and whether we admit it or not. The latest season of mine has felt difficult, for lack of better wording. Maybe the hardest it's been since I had a my first born, over seventeen years ago.  Back then, I felt alone and was dealing with a huge responsibility that I knew nothing about -- raising a child! Today, there's me pursuing writing, which is always a constant struggle ( Am I good enough?) There's me wondering how I let go of my son who will be graduating high school next year. ( I don't want to let go. )

Neighbors and Short Stories

My neighbors, whom I've not met, just moved in across the street. I've no idea where they're from and was out of town when the moving trucks unloaded their things, and I don't even know if I've seen their cars. I don't know if anyone is there, actually. But yesterday, they (I still didn't see them) set out some things for donation (they just appeared). The kind that is to be picked up by a truck, free of charge, to be resold for "reasonable" prices at a thrift store. So, someone must live there. My new neighbors missed the truck by a half hour. I saw it winding down our street as I left at 7:49 to take my sons to school. And when I got back, a baby walker and a few bags sat by the curb. It was a little sad to see the forlorn baby walker without a baby in it, as though the baby just upped and walked away on his own. It made me want to walk over to my new neighbors and meet them and tell them, "Hey, you're too late! You have to haul