When you have nothing to say why say anything?

But if you really must know what I’ve been up to as of late.

There’s the not so good…

I have some thoughts to a solution to the Social Security shortfall. Pretty sure it would be unpopular to all of those who are affected, but overall I believe it has the potential to be a huge money saver, job creator, and help us be healthier. I should outline my plan and send it to the President instead of just telling all of my family…

And my disappointment in knowing I was going to be let down, again. I’m not always a good judge of people on first impressions, but it doesn’t take long for me to see them for who they really are. And all in an effort to make me mad is just sad. I’m not mad, just disappointed – in myself!

I want to scream at the financial aide department of my [former] college for screwing up my last day as a student. This does have a profound effect on the interest on my loans. Their stance – my final loan was at the end of November. But my last day as a student was the end of January the following year! Then why do all of the letters (in general, not collections) ask if I am a full time student again? Obviously it’s not about whether or not I took out a new loan. Two months! Grrrr

Don’t even get me started on my brother. We’re not talking. Actually, he’s not talking to anybody, but even if he were, I don’t want to talk to him. Why? I have nothing nice to say. I’m finally listening to my mother.

And there are good things…

My chickens (all 3 of them) are doing much better after their traumatizing night a few weeks ago. Not sure what it was, but whatever it was slaughtered most of my chickens. The only survivors: the small rooster, one hen, and the baby (who is a hen!).

I’ve been fortunate enough to be given the opportunity to review some really cool things lately. Many with giveaways, so you can get in on the fun, too.

I’ve started outlining and drafting a series of short stories geared to children age 6 – 9. Topics will cover the serious, such as death and loss, and the not so serious, such as the change of seasons.

Oh, and let’s not forget I have won a few things in instant win games online this week. The most fun was the 90 My Coke Rewards points I won in the Monopoly game (won 3 times in 1 day). I also won a $10 Amazon GC, a Xeko plushie (stuffed animal of sorts?), Halls cough drops, & a pen.

Just not a lot to add to the value of this blog…

And now I’m off to get ready to take Amanda’s car in for new tires. Maybe there’s a blog post in there somewhere. No? You sure? Yeah, you’re probably right.

What about you? What have you been up to lately?

Reflection: If a Blogger Doesn’t Write a Post and No One is Around to Not Read it, Did it Make a Sound? is a post from: AnneOnLife where life happens quite regularly. If you liked that, you'll love me on and .
© AnneOnLife 2008-2010

March is National Noodle Month

No Yolks noodles wants to know in 100 words or less:

1. why you love No Yolks
2. how you use your noodles

or

3. or what your favorite No Yolks recipe is.

One lucky winner will walk away with $500!
Ten lucky runners-up will receive a case of No Yolks noodles.

What could you do with an extra $500? Time to start brainstorming. This contest ends when March does.

Twenty Lashes With A Wet Noodle is a post from: AnneOnLife where life happens quite regularly. If you liked that, you'll love me on and .
© AnneOnLife 2008-2010

I read a lot of what others write in books, magazines, on blogs, and in random other areas. Some styles I truly adore. Why, just the other day I found Kelly Diels. I subscribe to Problogger.com and she was the guest post. She wrote about luck and how it failed her when she moved her blog from one platform to another.  Of course I had to go check out her actual blog when I was done reading that post. I must have spent a good hour going from one post to another. It’s about time a girl was noticed for more than just her Cleavage.

Then there is Heather Kephart. I’ve written about Heather a few times already, but she really deserves it. She wants to be a writer. Funny, I think she is a writer already. Her posts draw you in and make you feel good. Tell me, when was the last time you wrote about The Fart That Shook The Earth and were talking about yourself? Be sure to read the comments, too.

I will never be that writer

It’s okay. I will be the writer I am meant to be. Once in awhile I will let loose with something fun and zany, but mostly I will come through with thoughtful albeit long-winded words and descriptions. I always knew my strength was in the art of the writing and not the speech of it all. I do know the direction of my November writing and will work to weed out the unnecessary and tweak the important parts. Much will be scrapped and much will be savored. All will be edited, probably within an inch of its life.

Epiphanies happen when we least expect them

Isn’t that why they are called epiphanies? Otherwise, they would just be another day in the life and yada yada yada. No, these things hit us like a ton of bricks and, ouch. I think I’m seeing some stars here.

I am therefore I am. Yessireebob, I am. Am I? Yes, yes, I think I am. What?

Happiness

I am. I cannot explain it nor would I want to pick it apart and ruin it. I am happy. I am saddened by many things and I am happy for so much more.

Tra la la

I have decided I would rather live in blissful ignorance than to be miserable and in the know. I want to be educated, but not snobbish. I want to know what I need to know and not what is none of my business. I want to hug my dog and my kids. I want to stare at my chickens as they bring me peace. And I want to write more poetry. Funny, since I am not that into poetry.

What about you?

Is this a happy time of year or a stressful one? Are you trying to keep up with the Joneses? Did you hear they are in bankruptcy now? Really, it’s not about the money spent, it’s about the time.  So, tell me, what makes you happy?

Self Discovery, Epiphanies, & Happiness ~ Part 2 is a post from: AnneOnLife where life happens quite regularly. If you liked that, you'll love me on and .
© AnneOnLife 2008-2010

First a Little ‘Ode to Joy’ ~ Muppet Style

I love the Muppets! Those old guys always did crack me up.

Self Discovery

I have been on this road to understanding a little more about myself and what I want out of this life of mine. I realize I am a thinker. Oh, and I feel a lot more than I wish, but ultimately I think way too much for anyone’s good. This makes me question just about everything and feel inadequate most days.

Just recently I was thinking about how so many people I am friends, acquaintances, in contact with that speak more than one language. Many of them speak at least two, but possibly even more. I speak one. I started learning French when I was in elementary school [somewhere between 8 & 10 I believe]. My mom pulled out some French language records. Oh, yes. These were vinyl, scratchy, and lift the needle to replay records. I still know how to say ‘What is your name?’ and ‘My name is’ but that is about the extent of my French.

I can say rabbit poop, thunder, chicken’s butt, and give me a hug in Czech

In high school I took 2 years of Spanish. I begged and pleaded with my mother to let me take French, then German, anything but Spanish. Today I can count ~ to about 50, say the alphabet ~ no rolling r’s though, and say one very intimate phrase that was taught to me by a very young Cuban co-worker years ago. Now, it’s not like that. I was dating a Cuban man and this co-worker thought it would be nice if I could say something to him in his native tongue. I even wrote a very short poem in Spanish. Oh, and I finally learned how to say smartass in Spanish. This one comes in handy often.

I can say rabbit poop, thunder, chicken’s butt, and give me a hug in Czech [part of my heritage on my mother's side]. All quite useful, don’t ya think? I can say I love you in English, Spanish, German, & French. Not sure how far any of that will get me either.

I am in awe. Truly I am. Just so everyone knows, no matter how poorly you speak English, you probably speak it far better than I speak your native language. Always remember this when you feel a bit inadequate in your ability. Because you should not feel that way.

NaNoWriMo & Other Things

It didn’t take any self discovery to know I tend to stray off topic often and without apology. It’s all just one of my more endearing qualities, or so I like to think.

I did learn I can write 50,000 words in 30 days. Wow! It feels really good, too. I have a lot of rewriting and editing to do, but I have something I can work with. But that is not even the best part. The best part is I learned something through all of that writing. I can write. Really. It is not all crap. Some of it most definitely is, but not all of it. I did pull some in with my dream sequence and all of your comments really inspire me to keep at it.

I also learned that I have a lot of emotion tucked away deep down inside. I enjoyed releasing bits and pieces of that emotion through my characters and within my writing. I am learning more and more about myself and even if I am never published I will gain so much from my continued writing. It is a great gift indeed.

Epiphanies & Happiness

These things never come quickly or with few words, at least not with me. In an effort to spare you a book of a post I am breaking this out into several parts.

Your turn

Now before you go, I would love to hear all about your own self discovery. Through this great big journey we call life we are bound to hit upon a few things ~ some good, some bad. Sometimes they arrive after much thought and contemplation. Other times they sneak up on us without warning or invitation.  A shameless plea for comments I know, but I welcome links to your posts as well. How’s that for sharing some bloggy love?!

Self Discovery, Epiphanies, & Happiness ~ Part 1 is a post from: AnneOnLife where life happens quite regularly. If you liked that, you'll love me on and .
© AnneOnLife 2008-2010

We had a lot of fun. The girls and I hit the freebies at CVS on Thursday. I did not have to worry about getting their early since my parents live in such a small town. Everything was in stock. Then we ate lots of turkey and mashed potatoes, gravy and veggies. And of course my mom had pie. There was apple pie [with and without raisins] and pumpkin pie. My aunt made cookies shaped like turkeys and there were brownies.

On Friday the girls and I were at the mall a little after 4 am. We stopped in JCPenney first and collected our free snow globes. My mom collects these. Then we drove over to Target and waited. Just before 5 am we went to get in line only to find it was wrapped around and behind the building. Needless to say, we left.

We drove back to the mall and got food. Then we hit Sears, Victoria’s Secret, Bath & Body Works, and a few others. We did not make too many purchases. I did get stopped by one of the Dead Sea people and tried to leave without buying anything. All I can say is these sales people are good. I took the girls to get hair cuts then we walked over to the people selling hair straighteners. Amanda wanted them to re-straighten her hair. We left with three straighteners and various hair stuffs. These things are amazing! We left after that.

We made one last stop at Publix for some Black Cherry soda ~ the best around ~ and this is always a must for any Florida trip. I tried to take a nap when we returned, but my parents had other plans. We headed out to a working farm and orange grove. I have to say, these oranges were so good. Fresh picked and oh so tasty. We brought back six small boxes of oranges, grapefruit, tangerines, and lemons. I also got some orange blossom honey ~ farm fresh.

Mom made a ham dinner for us on Friday and there was leftover pie and a Carvel ice cream cake for dessert. I think we can all live for a few weeks on all the food we ate on our trip.

We left Saturday around 11 am and arrived back in Virginia around 9:30 pm. Sunday we were greeted by our chickens and today I have to go by the vet and pick up Ivy. I really miss her. Amanda and I took Megan back to Radford yesterday and hit more traffic on I-81 then we did on any of the roads coming back from Florida the day before.

Today I am working on finishing up NaNoWriMo [2400 words to go as of this posting] and will be a bit MIA for the next three weeks as I finish up my final college class ~ which is going to kick my ass ~ and get ready for the holidays.

Well, so much for my super quick update. I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving, ate lots of turkey, and enjoyed the company of friends and family be it close to home or far away.

Image courtesy of fmsparis.

Super Quick Update is a post from: AnneOnLife where life happens quite regularly. If you liked that, you'll love me on and .
© AnneOnLife 2008-2010

So, yeah. Today I went shopping with Amanda. I would post her picture, but we have this deal ~ I don’t post pictures of her and she doesn’t post those really unflattering pictures of me ~ no problem. I have been wanting a new Scrabble game because I love Scrabble and my board is some 30 years old and I think it’s missing some pieces. It was off to Target for the $20 Deluxe Edition with the carry case & a free Scrabble card game to boot! I cannot wait for Christmas!

Class of 2009

I started my final college class towards my Bachelors in Accounting. YAY! I need to find out everything that is required of me, but I should be an official college graduate in December. My final class is Government & Institutional Accounting. Next order of business, find a job to help pay off all of those student loans that will come a callin’ in six months.

NaNo Novel Update

I have cracked the 35,000 word barrier and am getting some positive feedback over on my writing blog for those few excerpts I have bravely shared. I have lost a bit of my direction, but am okay with that. I will figure it all out and work on the editing and reworking after November has ended and my college studies have completed.

On another writing front, I will be picking up 3 shoe boxes of love letters and pictures when I visit my parents over Thanksgiving. The letters are correspondence from my grandparents while they were courting [isn't that a phrase that should be revived?] and when my grandfather went off to fight in WWII. I am really excited about this. I really am a romantic old sap at heart.

Which Came First The Chicken Or The Egg?

In March we decided to get some chickens. We started with 24. We had 7 roosters and 17 hens. These were mostly Rhode Island Reds, some Bantams, and four were Leghorns. This summer we lost one of the leghorns when she was hit by a truck. After that we debated what to do with the 7 roosters, which were really worrying the hens with their constant, uh, desires. We decided to cull them down to 2 roosters. Not as bad as you would think, but not something I would want to do again if at all possible. That left us with 2 roosters and 16 hens. Then, this past week we lost 3 more hens ~ 2 of the leghorns & I think a bantam. We think a hawk got them.

Our purpose for the chickens is to get eggs, for us to eat and to sell. Lately we have been getting 8 – 9 eggs a day. Today we got one that had no shell and no yolk. It was also quite small. This is the second egg we’ve found this size, the first with no shell.

In Case You Haven’t Seen It

I originally found this posted over at The Succulent Wife’s Favorite Things. This commercial has had me and my family laughing all weekend:

Shopping ~ Graduating ~ Writing ~ Chickens & Eggs [shells are optional] ~ & Finally, A Little 'Clean' Humor is a post from: AnneOnLife where life happens quite regularly. If you liked that, you'll love me on and .
© AnneOnLife 2008-2010

A Wordle is a nifty little contraption that takes words from your site and creates a little snapshot of those words. Also, you can enter random words and create a wordle. See, no blog necessary. Hmm, unless you want to post it. Well, then I suppose you could save it to photobucket or flickr or something like that. But now I am off topic.

My Blog’s Wordle:

Let’s see what I was saying this past week, shall we? Hmmm. ~ everyone Elf Yourself ~ {good thing that is meant in a good way} ~ submit W.O.O.F ~ {a little not so subliminal messaging}

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

My Writing Blog’s Wordle:

~ Jack want beach gone ~ trees like little thoughts ~ just started walked around ~ {I have added more excerpts from my NaNoWriMo work in progress. You can check them all out here.} Oh, and you can watch my progress throughout the month with the nifty widget located at the top right of the page.

You should try this out. Just head over to Last Shreds of Sanity and find out how. Then be sure to link up your Wordle. I cannot wait to see it!

Weekend Wordles ~ Your Guess Is As Good As Mine is a post from: AnneOnLife where life happens quite regularly. If you liked that, you'll love me on and .
© AnneOnLife 2008-2010

I checked out everyone’s entry yet I forgot to vote. {smacks forehead}

Every week the wonderful folks at PlotDog Press hold the W.O.O.F. Contest where you submit your writing and you and others who submit vote and choose their [your] favorites. W.O.O.F. stands for Writers Offering Our Finest and here are the finest from this past week:

WOOF Contest – Top Picks

Poetry

Jennifer M Scott – “Misery and her Sister” – A bad couple of days at work channeled into words.

dragon blogger – “Curious Storefront” – Poem about a merchant dealer of souls.

Zorlone – “Meteor Shower of Tears” – A lonesome man remembering the love he professed to a woman.

Brought to you by PlotDog Press with the Serial Suspense Screenplay “Intervention”

Presenting the finest of the writer’s blogs by the bloggers who write them. Highlighting the top posts as chosen by the November 13, 2009 WOOF Contest participants. Want in to join the next WOOF? The next contest ends November 20. Submit a link to your best writing post of the last 3 weeks using the form on this page. Participants, repost the winning link list within a week and you’re all set.

WOOF Contest 11/13 Winners is a post from: AnneOnLife where life happens quite regularly. If you liked that, you'll love me on and .
© AnneOnLife 2008-2010

For everyone struggling through NaNoWriMo

I bought Janet Evanovich’s book How I Write a few months back. I picked it up last night to peruse and found this very NaNo appropriate quote:

Don’t fall into the trap of rewriting chapter one until it’s perfect. And don’t discard everything you write halfway through because you’re sure it sucks. Writing stuff that sucks is part of the learning process!

- Janet Evanovich, How I Write

See, we all write crap. We are supposed to write crap. I feel so much better. I really am a writer! Who’d a thought?!

And now a poem written just for you, from Moi

May your words always find you
May your writing be swift
May your characters be lively
And with a little bit of kick

May your fingers be nimble
As you type night and day
May your story be wondrous
Carrying your readers away

May your thesaurus prove true
With words fantastic to read
May your dictionary prevail
Providing words that you need

May you sit back and relax
When December 1 rolls around
Accomplished and rewarded
Your 50,000 words written down

And when it’s all over
A joyous smile will creep
You did it, you won
Now it’s time to sleep!

And Now For A Little NaNoWriMo Inspiration is a post from: AnneOnLife where life happens quite regularly. If you liked that, you'll love me on and .
© AnneOnLife 2008-2010

Let’s start with yesterday in the shower. Now, get your mind out of the gutter. Sigh. I woke up at 10 am and thought, ‘Wonderful!’ Then I remembered I had some Walgreens RR [register rewards] expiring. Then I thought, maybe they expired later in the week. By this point I was already in the shower and the RR’s were in the Jeep. I push them out of my mind since they will have to wait.

So, there I am in the shower and I start thinking these great conversations for my story, you know, my NaNoWriMo story? And I’m like ‘STOP!’ Yeah, really, I did that ~ out loud even! Sheesh! Man, that’s a lot of exclamation points right there let me tell you. Anyway, I stop and go back to washing my hair ~ it takes forever to wash my hair, seriously.

Here I am washing, washing, washing and the thoughts start again. CRAP! My voice recorder is also in the Jeep. Not that it’s waterproof, but that is beside the point. Yeah, want to know what I do next? Well, you have to buy the book. Okay, I don’t have a book. And I will never have a book if I don’t stop having my great thoughts while in the shower where I CANNOT WRITE THEM DOWN.

I start singing

In the shower! Like that is not a cliche. It gets better. I start singing, “stop this, stop thinking right now, you cannot write here, lalala lalalalalala”. Now, put that to the tune of Hava Nagila and you have me in the shower! For those of you who do not know this lovely Hebrew folk song here is an awesome version of it thanks to judaza75:

And if that were not enough

The shower talking escalated to me [out loud] saying over and over again, ‘you will not think, you will not think’. You get the picture. It was a shame really. I was having some really great thoughts, too. At least I think I was. Since I could not remember much of anything AFTER the shower. I have thoughts while driving down the road, but I have started using my voice recorder for those. YAY!

After the shower [and getting dressed] I check the RR’s and they were expiring. Now I debate the cost of driving an hour to use them up versus letting them expire. I almost had myself convinced to just ‘screw it’ and let them expire when I remembered two of them were $7 each. I re-checked and I had $19. I could not in good conscience let them expire, so I dragged myself out of the house.

I bought 3- 9 roll packs of toilet paper [we were out and Dwayne really didn't like my substituting napkins], 1- 8 roll pack of paper towels, and 2- 64 oz bottle of Ocean Spray cranberry juice. There was a $1 off Walgreens coupon for the Ocean Spray, but it beeped and the cashier couldn’t figure it out and there were two very nice people behind me with only a few items each. I told her to let it go and it cost me a little over $3 instead of the $1 and change I expected to pay, but still not bad. I purposely did not roll any of the RR’s. The good news ~ Walgreens is coming to town! I may even apply for a job there.

Speaking of jobs…

I received an email from Monster jobs this morning. Kemp Group is looking to fill a bunch of accounting positions. Well, I could use a job, since savings is dwindling. I thought I would send my updated resume [which includes no dates beyond the past 10 years] and a new and improved, specially written for them cover letter. Yes, I did it. Not as poignant as the one I posted here, but not your typical cover letter either.

Dear Hiring Manager:

Monster Jobs alerted me to the opportunities you have available and I feel I meet the qualifications for a Staff Accountant position. I have over 15 years experience in bookkeeping and accounting and will complete my Bachelors in Accounting in January 2010.

I am looking for a position that will offer more than just a job, and something I can be proud of at the end of the day. I have been out of work for a year now yet that does not mean I am desperate. Life is too short to be unhappy and far too much of life is spent in the workplace. I am a hard and dedicated worker and I expect the same of any organization with which I work.

If you are interested in getting know me better, then I look forward to meeting with you to discuss how I will be an asset to your company. I appreciate your taking the time out of your busy day to give my application due consideration.

Sincerely,

Anne Bender

I will let you know if I get a call. Not that I’m holding my breath or anything.

**UPDATE**

No, no phone call or email, but I had Dwayne [DH] read the letter. He said ‘out of your busy day’ sounds sarcastic. Well, that was truly not my intent. I sincerely meant to acknowledge the busy nature of one’s working environment. I will omit that for future cover letters.

Will the real Anne please stand up is a post from: AnneOnLife where life happens quite regularly. If you liked that, you'll love me on and .
© AnneOnLife 2008-2010