Word Up

Confession- I have SIX posts that are in the "draft" stage.  My goal is to finish them up within the next couple of weeks.  Wish me luck!  Here's one I started a few weeks back.

Seems the thing to do these days is to choose a word to use as inspiration for the year rather than doing a whole list of specific resolutions. 

The idea was intriguing to me.  Would choosing a word help me focus on becoming better, rather than completing goals just to check them off of a list?  Would a word be specific enough, or do I need something more tangible to reach for?  Some years I've done really well with resolutions, other years I make them forget about them by January 15th.  To be honest, recently I haven't made any at all. 

Since I've been thinking about choosing a word for several years, back in December I gave it some serious thought.  What word would I choose?  I love words so narrowing it down to one was nearly impossible.  There are so many wonderful and inspiring words.  Love, Serve, Celebrate, Inspire, Create, Rejoice, Grow, Move, Connect, Nurture, Organize, Cleanse... really I could go on and on. 

As I thought one word came back to me again and again.  When I said it it rang true for me and what I need to focus on.  Balance. 

This year I will strive to:

Balance my Time.

I will allot my time with discernment

I will give my time to what is to what is best over what is good or better

Minutes may be spent on the inconsequential

But Hours will be my gift to the significant

Each Moment will be dedicated to Him. 

Balance my Energy.

My reserve of energy will be spent wisely

The energy I am blessed with will be used to bless others

I will enrich My Loved Ones, My Spirit and My Home through my actions

I will recognize the limitations placed on myself and others

I will accept them with love

Balance my Body.

I will acknowledge my body as a creation of a loving Heavenly Father

I will care for it accordingly

Now you tell me, what's your word this year?  Write it down and put it where you will see it often.  After all, "Goals in writing are dreams with deadlines."

100 Things About Me

1- I have never had my nails done
2- I lived in the same house from age 4 until I got married
3- I love driving by that house on occasion
4- My dad gave me my curly hair
5- I didn't like having curly hair while growing up
6- My brothers called me "broccoli."  Being called "broccoli" hurt my feelings more than anything else
7- My brother once called Aubrey "broccoli" and I almost punched him (seriously)
8- I don't mind having curly hair now
9- I am glad that Aubrey has curly hair, I hope she doesn't hate me for it
10- I had a happy childhood
11- I love the neighborhood that we live in
12- I love it when we have flowers in our yard
13- My sister and I used to think it was so rude to call your sister "sissy"
14- I believe babies can't talk because they know too much rather than too little
15- I am currently in a Biggest Loser type competition with my hubby
16- I am more reserved now than I have ever been
17- I have donated 8" of my hair to Locks of Love three times in my adult life
18- My biggest fear is probably cancer; getting it myself or having another loved one get it
19- I worry a lot more than I let on
20- I wish that I could type faster
21- My mom told me that I would regret quitting piano, I do
22- I recently started a Facebook account, I'm still deciding how I feel about it
23- I worked at Little Caesar's Pizza in high school.  I really hated that job. I didn't eat pizza for a long time afterward
24- I really like pizza now
25- I'm beginning to think that a marathon is not in my immediate future
26- I was going to get my degree in teaching
27- When I go back to school I don't know what I want to study, I don't think I want to be a teacher anymore
28- I am trying to be more organized
29- I used to give blood every chance I had
27- After having babies needles make me a little nervous
28- I've been bungee jumping
29- Bungee jumping scared the bujeebers out of me, I loved it!
30- Laundry is my least favorite chore
31- I am the middle of five kids
32- Growing up with two older brothers trained me to feel like I always have to be tough
33- My siblings are my best friends
34- I talk with my sister almost everyday
35- My parents are my heroes
36- I feel helpless when someone I love is hurting
37- When I am asked what my "favorite" things are (food, color, etc) I have a hard time deciding
38- I don't know what that says about me
39- I am in denial that my oldest child will be ten this year
40- I am constantly underestimating what my kids can do
41- My children amaze me by what they are capable of
42- I believe that my children will do great things
43- I worry about being a good mother
44- I would rather shower than bathe
45- Bath water kind of grosses me out. I saw a Seinfeld where Kramer said when you bathe you're "sitting in a tepid pool of your own filth." I think of that every time I take a bath
46- I just realized that my boys are old enough that I now embarrass them
47- I love it when I make my bed
48- I have cut Kedar's hair since before we got engaged
49- My boys have had one "professional" haircut in their lives
50- I am too afraid to cut my daughter's hair
51- My hubby just recently started laughing at my jokes
52- I think that he has always thought that I was funny, just not when I tried
53- I am very clumsy.  I trip a lot.
54- I always try to act like I didn't just trip, hoping nobody else noticed
55- I love soup from Zupas
56- I get very carsick
57- I love my iPod
58- Music has always inspired me
58- I sang in seven different choirs in middle and high school
59- When I had to try out I was always surprised when I made it in
60- I love to hear my husband sing
61- He sang to me on our first date (actually it was a rap- never mind)
62- Kedar makes me want to be a better person
63- He is the most driven person that I know
64- I have lived in Utah my whole life
65- I would love to live here forever
66- I love the mountains
67- If I don't get outside everyday I start to feel trapped
68- I have always been a night owl
69- I love sleeping in
70- I hate sleeping in
71- When I sleep in I feel like the whole day is unproductive
72- I have tried lots of times to break the habit of staying up late
73- There are some books that I read over and over again
74- I have read Pride and Prejudice too many times to count
75- I stayed away from reading the classics until about 5 years ago because they intimidated me.  I ain't screed no more
76- I would rather eat a good salad than a good steak
77- I forget things a lot, which really bothers me
78- When I get embarrassed I blush
79- When I blush I get more embarrassed
80- I cried in the movie Tangled
81- I wish I didn't cry so easily
82- Sometimes I have a hard time making decisions
83- I miss my grandparents
84- I have very vivid dreams
85- I talk in my sleep
86- I was a stubborn child
87- I was an outspoken twenty year old
88- I am a shape shifter
89- Sometimes I need to write
90- Sometimes I can't write
91- While we were dating Kedar told me my eyes are the color of a lion's eyes
92- My eyes are light brown but sometimes they look orangey
93- Sunsets often leave me speechless
94- We always had a dog while growing up.  Sometimes I really want a dog, sometimes I don't
95- I am grateful my life hasn't always gone the way that I had planned
96- I am done comparing myself to others.  I think women do that to themselves far too often
97- I get attached easily
98- I remember the exact words Kedar said to me when he asked me to marry him
99- I love spring flowers, they make me happy
100- I like all of the light switches to be tilted the same way

The Fish

(a limerick)

There was a fat dog from the hills
Who decided she needed more thrills
So she fell to the ground
And rolled round and round
In a fish rotted through to its gills

The fish recently splashed in a stream
But a coon came along, it would seem
It reached in a paw
Caught the fish by the jaw
And sat down for a meal from a dream

The coon had just started to feast
When interrupted by a great beast
A big hungry bear
Was suddenly there
And quiet quickly the coon was deceased

The bear took his meal on the run
Wrapped the coon in a frankfurter bun
The fish was forgotten
And it laid there just rottin'
'Til the fat dog went searching for fun

This is my first attempt at a limerick.  Maybe you'd like to try one of you own?  Here's a link to get you started!

The Swing

There was a tall, tall swing 

standing proudly in Grandma's yard. 

I was cradled by the black, plastic seat,

holding tightly to the cool, metal chains.

The wooden frame stretched up, up

into the inviting blue sky.   

back and forth

back and forth

My toes softly brushed the grass,

combing through each tender blade.

My hair rushed around my face,

tickling my cheeks, my nose.

Then gently it was pulled back,

a curly comet's tail trailing behind me.

back and forth

back and forth

I leaned way back,

closing my eyes.

I heard the swoosh of the wind

flooding my ears. 

I saw the hazy red-orange

dancing behind my eyelids.

I smelled the sweet, pink roses

growing under the kitchen window.

back and forth

back and forth

My mind was quieted

by the steady, soothing rhythm.

I dreamed of flight,

soaring while seated.

I embraced this freedom,

sweeping, and weightless.

"What's better: backwards or forwards?  Write a story about a swing...Can you capture the swing's rhythm in your writing?"  I found this writing prompt at this Random Prompt Generator.  Now have some fun writing your own!

Snapshot

In the photo album on my shelf is a snapshot of the childhood version of me sitting next to my Grandpa.  One of his arms is cradled around me while the other cradles a storybook.  His blue eyes are framed by his characteristic browline glasses.

This was a common scene on Sunday evenings when I was young.  Grandpa would gather us around and read unfamiliar stories from old children's books; stories about a skinny kitty and a heart-shaped house. 

Grandpa's gravelly voice would capture and keep my attention until the inevitable "The End."  His words painted colorful pictures in my mind and seemed to have a life of their own.  Sitting next to my Grandpa, wearing my pink Sunday dress with matching barrettes in my hair; this is where my appreciation for books began.

When I think of my Grandpa, the moments I remember best are the ones we spent on his velvety brown and orange couch, book in hand; moments like the one that is captured in the photo album on my shelf.


This post came from a writing prompt at creativewritingprompts.com.  "A picture is worth more than a blank page.  Take out those dusty photo albums.  Pick out photo #14.  Count however you like, but make sure you stop at photo #14...Write all of the feelings that photograph made you feel.  Don't censor yourself.  Just write."  Now pull out your photo album and start writing! 

The Beast

Laundry is a beast; a stained, stinky, sneaky monster.  It waits patiently, quietly in the darkest corners to be discovered.  Fear of its terrible tactics haunt me; unrelenting, ever-expanding, never showing mercy. 

Day after day I battle with my tireless nemesis, never gaining the winning advantage.  Victory is just out of reach and when, at last, it seems within my grasp the beast rears its ugly head again; soiled-sock-teeth bared menacingly.    

The endless, circular cycle gnaws at my resolve.  Beady-button-eyes glare at me through the sides of the laundry basket; taunting me, teasing me, daring me to start the fight afresh.        

I found this writing prompt here. "What household chore do you like the least?  Write about why it is your least favorite and how it makes you feel."  Now go put your hatred for ironing, vacuuming or whatever chore you can't stand down on paper!

I Remember...

I remember walking across the "busy road" just outside our neighborhood to get a soda in a glass bottle and thinking we were so far from home.  The end of the neighborhood felt like the end of the world.

I remember getting in a fight with Corey, my older brother, and telling him that I hated him, then feeling terrible afterward.

I remember running away from home, then coming home and realizing that nobody had noticed that I had been gone.

I remember riding bikes around the block pretending that our bikes were horses.  My horse was named Dirty Snow.

I remember my 9th grade English teacher calling me "Little Larrabee" because she had taught both of my older brothers.  I hated being called "Little Larrabee."

I remember wearing my Sunday shoes out onto the iced-over road and "ice skating" until my toes were so numb that I couldn't feel them.

I remember watching my Mom and Dad kiss every night when he would come home from work.

I remember making up songs with my sister and singing them over and over; annoying every other member of the family.  They had such original lyrics as, "Shiny dime, red elastic, yo, ho, ho" repeated three times.

I remember weeding the garden on Saturdays.

I remember crying as I watched my dad set our dog, Princess, gently into a deep hole he had dug in the garden after she died.

I remember running home from church because I had to go to the bathroom. I got there just to find all of the doors locked.  I looked in all of the window wells see if one of the basement windows was open and instead found a baby bunny.

I remember Marci straightening my hair with a clothes iron, it was a frizzy mess and Marci called me "Richard Simmons."  I cried.

I remember my Mom telling me that her dad had stars in his eyes.  I went into the bathroom and stared in the mirror for hours at my eyes; wanting to find something of him in me.

I remember falling off of the neighbors' trampoline, face first into a pile of loose dirt.  I stood up, mortified, covered with the fine powder. Trent Angel looked at me and said, "I've heard of girls powdering their faces, but that was ridiculous!"  I couldn't help laughing.

I remember when my Mom and Dad disagreed about something, my Mom would always say, "Honey, can I talk to you in our bedroom?" and all of us kids would say in a sing song voice, "Ooooh! Dad's in trouble!"

I remember stepping into the mud as I reached for cat tails that grew along the stream in the park, and learning why we called it "poo mud".

I remember re-doing my bedroom with my Dad for my Laurel project.  It was done in shades of green and white; I thought it looked so mature.

I remember Marci re-did her room a couple years later.  Hers was done in bright, primary colors; I thought it looked so immature.  She told me my room looked like a grandma's room.

I remember driving in the family van to my Grandparent's for Sunday dinner.  My youngest sibling, Tyler, said, "I can punch myself in the face and it won't even hurt."  He punched himself as hard as he could and then burst into tears.

I remember pretending to be a pioneer, walking along the dusty trails, having only "cheesies" to eat.

I remember getting a running start to brave my way through the tall sunflowers that drooped heavily over the sidewalk.  The grasshoppers hiding in the thick weeds would jump up and cling to my arms and legs, leaving their brown spittle in tiny puddles on my skin.

I remember sneaking into the storage room and eating marshmellow cream straight out of the jar.


The idea for this post came from Tiffany at The Would-be Writer's Guild.