Excuses, excuses, excuses

I realize that I don't think I ever got around to explaining why I dropped out of NaNoWriMo '09. In fact, after my last post, I haven't really blogged at all.

This photo has practically nothing to do with the post.

I just wanted to show off my mad crochet skills.

Well. This is just to tell you that I promise I'll get to it.

It's just that...

My dog died. (Actually, we are down to only one dog now, but that wasn't necessarily a sad occasion. Again, more in another post.)

My.... kids ate my homework?

Let's just say that I will make it up to you via commentary love on the blogs that I follow today. And I'll be posting a bit of a video.

Monday Question of the Day:

What do you think about video blogging or "vlogging"? As a mother/artisan/woman/student/insert your favorite title here, what would you want most out of a vlog?

Or... do you hate vlogs?

Have a fantastic Monday, and I hope it's a refreshing start to your week!

Love letters from a typewriter

There's something about pieces of the past that are so inspiring. Since making the decision to quit NaNoWriMo '09, I've felt so much better. (More on that in another post.) Lighter, almost. As though a huge weight has been lifted from my shoulders.

But up until this point, I've been feeling horribly uninspired, so drawn down into the muck and mire of the hatred that I had for everything I even thought about plotting for the manuscript that was supposed to be one that I could work with and submit for publishing.

I'm blessed enough that I can do that and not worry about paying bills. [Thank you, MarvMan.]

But this little beauty of mine that I scored on eBay for a whopping $30? Has got me feeling pretty darn creative.

What inspires your creative muses?

Give It Away Now

I've been incredibly swamped with college and the house and NaNoWriMo this month, so please pardon my lack of presence around here. I had planned on resuming the regular blog schedule December 1, but I had a moment tonight that I couldn't help but share.

Awhile back, I read Anthony Kiedis's memoir "Scar Tissue." It was a compelling read, one that I'm actually tempted to pick up again. There was a mention in his memoir about how he had admired a leather jacket belonging to Nina Hagen, and she gave it to him. Just like that. No strings attached, nothing.

She explained that giving things away creates positive energy. Kiedis went on to write the song Give It Away. Explained the song in his memoir. I read the memoir, and the philosophy behind it stuck with me.

Tonight I was in a bad mood. I can't explain why or how or what - this nasty funk descended upon my mood and tore it all sorts of sideways, backward, and upside down. I wanted to go to Sonic - for half price drinks - and we needed bread. So, bad mood and all, out into town we went.

As I pulled up to the window in the Sonic drive-thru, I was just setting my phone aside from texting and the girl at the window asked me if that was the Blackberry Storm. I replied that yes, it was, in fact, the Storm.

We chatted for a few about it, as she has one as well. She complimented me on my pretty pink cover and asked where I'd gotten it. I explained it was what we were given when I said yes to a pink cover when we placed the order on the phone. She looked a little crestfallen at that, and I noticed she had a white cover. After a moment of contemplation, I found myself asking her:

Do you want it?

Really simple, straight forward. And she was taken aback. Asked me about five or six times if I was serious before I slipped the cover off and handed it to her.

"Here! I really am serious!"

"Well, here, have mine then. Are you - wow, are you sure? This is so funny! You're so funny!"

It's kind of sad that we live in a society these days where if you're given something, you're constantly looking for the strings or the pitfalls or "What's wrong with it?" We've fallen away from giving each other things out of pure desire to make someone else happy.

But the look on her face, the happiness and the gratitude? Totally worth it. I didn't know her at all, but making her happy made me happy.

Yes, it was a complete stranger.

Yes, it was just a phone cover.

And yeah, she made it into a trade.

But when you give things away without expecting anything in return? The rewards are unexpectedly amazing.

Reeling with the feeling, don't stop - continue.

-RHCP-

It's a caffeine kind of day

I know I slept well last night. The congestion I've been fighting has cleared up. The girls went to bed without any fuss whatsoever. And yet here I sit, ruminating over what I believe is my third cup of coffee this morning.

It could have something to do with the massive word count deficit that I have to surmount for NaNoWriMo. As well as all the work that needs to be done for my philosophy of human ethics class before it ends in a week and a half. I'm desperately scrambling to get ahead in some area so as to provide myself a buffer. Since it doesn't seem to be happening with NaNo, I'm trying to make it happen with college. 

And what is the fuel for this scramble to get ahead? Coffee. So I started looking up coffee quotes. While there were plenty of good ones, the following stood out as the best one of them all:

Caffeine is my shepherd; I shall not doze.
It maketh me to wake in green pastures:
It leadeth me beyond the sleeping masses.
It restoreth my buzz:
It leadeth me in the paths of consciousness for its name's sake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of addiction,
I will fear no Equal™:
For thou art with me; thy cream and thy sugar they comfort me.
Thou preparest a carafe before me in the presence of The Starbucks:
Thou anointest my day with pep; my mug runneth over.
Surely richness and taste shall follow me all the days of my life:
And I will dwell in the House of Mochas forever.
~Author Unknown

It's too bad the author's unknown. I would love to hug them. And give them some coffee.

Image cred

Poem cred

Who doesn't love a man in uniform?

Our weekend was positively full. Any of my friends on Facebook can tell you that Friday was a screwy day for me. I mixed up what day it was - I thought it was Saturday, but was still operating on a Friday schedule. Goes to show how mixed up things can get when MarvMan has a day off. Regardless of the day off, we had to get snazzed up.

That afternoon, we had a rededication to attend. All summer long, MarvMan and a small crew of others from a few commands around the base were painting and fixing up the aircraft on display at Air Power Park here on NAS Fallon. The park is a testament to the long standing tradition and might of Naval aviation. It's truly a beautiful sight to see, especially if you're an aircraft aficionado. 

I was armed with a camera. My BlackBerry Storm, but a camera nonetheless.

There were men in uniform to be photographed. Of course I had my camera.

MarvMan painted the girls' names on one of the aircraft because they'd gone out to the park a few times with him over the summer to help wash the jets. The guys on the crew love the girls - and they think the world of all those guys.

I am such a proud wife and mama - even when the going gets tough. GO NAVY!