Addicted to Pandora

I've been having fun playing with Pandora on my NookColor. I've wanted Pandora on a mobile device ever since my daughter was using it on her dearly departed iPhone. Yes, I played with it on my computer, but for some reason, having it on the laptop didn't stick. Same thing with being able to read eBooks on my laptop. It's just better when I use my nook. Here are my stations so far:

The Beatles Radio
Monty Python Radio
The Eagles Radio
The Fratellis Radio
Mumford & Sons Radio
The Decemberists Radio
Billy Joel Radio
Guns N' Roses Radio
Green Day Radio
Jason Mraz Radio
Ludo Radio
Bruce Springsteen Radio
Leonard Cohen Radio
Elton John Radio
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Radio
Ella Fitzgerald Radio
Dave Brubeck Radio
Rent Radio (As in the motion picture soundtrack)
Alanis Morissette Radio
Meredith Brooks Radio
Irish Drinking Song Radio
Celtic Thunder Radio
Michael Buble Radio
Little Shop of Horrors: The New Broadway Cast Radio
The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee Radio
Bo Burnham Radio
Rilo Kiley Radio

Yeah, I know there are a lot of redundancies, but that's what happens when you run out of skips but still want to listen to the same type of music but also don't particularly feel like listening to the current selection.

nooknooknooknooknook

Yep, that is why I haven't been as diligent with keeping up with every day posting as I had planned. Actually, I had hoped to post this with my nook, but I could only get as far as the title. I couldn't type in the "compose" box. I love my nook. It's a nook color, actually, and even though it doesn't have that technology where it's like reading a regular book, it doesn't seem to put any more strain on my eyes than reading a regular book. I would love to go on and on, but I think B&N would owe me some money, ha ha!

Whoopsy!

Well, I'm just going to keep going with NaBloPoMo even though I skipped yesterday. Maybe if I get in the habit, I'll do better next month? Yesterday was the TGIO party for NaNoWriMo. We had it at the Coffee Depot in Downtown Riverside. It was so much fun! Everyone either read selections from their novels or discussed the plot of their novel. Some shared how NaNoWriMo was life changing for them. We cheered the winners and gave solace to those of us who did not reach our 50,000 words. If any of you from this group are reading this, I just want to say that you all totally rock!

Bread, Glass, Beach

The Leonard family minus the teenagers will be heading off in my 

to first go to Dudley's Bakery in Santa Ysabel. I think some fruit bars, sourdough, and rosemary bread will be on our shopping list. From there we will be going to Liquid Glass Co. which is part owned and operated by a guy with whom my husband went to school. If we have time, after that, we hope to make it to La Jolla Shores or Cuvier Park where we got married to watch the sunset. It will kind of be like a date...except that we'll have our nine-and-a-half-year-old daughter with us....

My Morning

I am typing this while watching a recorded episode of "Burn Notice" so if it seems a bit rambling and a lot a of typos, that is my explanation. Walked my daughter to school with my husband so we could watch her get her GOLD Honor roll award.

We had to walk - a 25 minute walk - because there was a problem with our car insurance and we wouldn't be covered from midnight last night until our insurance company opened and we could call and make the rest of our payment. My husband, Charley, had to carry our daughter's poster board volcano report. (She got an "A") Before the 4th grade awards assembly, we had to sit through the Friday Spirit Assembly.  On the way home, we stopped by the Green Bean Coffee shop and had a coffee and pumpkin bread while Charley called the insurance company. Once insured, we called our older daughter, Amanda, and had her come pick us up at the coffee shop.

I would like to mention that I am very glad I remembered to post today. I almost shut down my computer because I was so tired! Whew!

Danger Girl??

The NaBloPoMo writing prompt is: What's the most dangerous thing you've ever done?

I really need to think about this. The first thing I that came to mind was rollercoasters, but really, I don't think of them as dangerous. Thrilling, maybe, dangerous, no.  There were a couple of times where I was in danger as a child, though it was never my intent to be in danger. I will tell you about those and you can decide.

When I was around three-years-old I was at my grandparents. I was inside of their car and my parents and aunt and uncle were washing the car. My grandparents lived at the top of this very steep hill. Can you already see where this is going? So I was messing around with the things on the dashboard and turning the steering wheel and somehow I have managed not only to disengage the emergency brake, but I also took the car out of park and it started going down the hill. Everyone was screaming and trying to stop the car with their bodies. Fortunately, the way it had been parked it ended up not going very far or very fast until it hit a  little curb surrounding my grandparent's landscape. The car went up the curb and was stopped by a bush. My grandma was angry with the adults. I did not get in trouble. A bonus of being three.

When I was around four, I was in my grandparents' swimming pool. Yes, the same grandparents where the runaway car incident happened. My grandpa was on pool duty keeping an eye on me from a lawn chair on his patio. I was doing my usual trick of holding on to the edge of the pool with my hands and pushing my feet against the wall of the pool so I could scoot myself around the perimeter of the pool.   Somehow, I managed to push myself far away enough from the edge that I couldn't doggie paddle back and I sunk like a rock. There I was, flailing in an attempt to reach the surface when all of a sudden there's my grandpa under the water with all of his clothes on including his glasses! Grandpa saved me! There was a funny (sort of) story to tell when the rest of the relatives got there for dinner that night.

So that is about it, unless you want to count the times I went off-campus for lunch with my boyfriend (we were allowed to go off-campus for lunch, but my mom didn't want me to. The boyfriend did not go to my school and had already graduated) and went somewhere to make out. Nothing happened beyond that, but I very much was NOT supposed to have done that, and one time I was so late for my next class that there was only fifteen minutes left, but I went anyway because I didn't want it to be a blatant cut. If you are marked tardy, they don't say how tardy you are.


You could also count the time that I dated this guy whom I will only refer to as "psycho-boy." Really, he was a man, but I'm trying to keep things light here and "psycho-man" seems to have a slightly heavier ring to it. In the interest of keeping things light, I will only mention that there were midnight drunken phone calls (from him), I would come out in the morning to find my tires slashed on more than one occasion, sugar in my gas tank (which does nothing, by the way), and crazy glue in the keyholes of my car (which also doesn't do much because it's pretty easy to just jab your key right through that).  This was from an almost 40-year-old man.

So you decide-- my joy ride? The near drowning? sneaking off with my boyfriend? or dating a clearly unstable person?

 

 

NaBloPoMo Day ONE

The theme this month is ZEITGEIST

 Today, I'm going to use the writing prompt on the nablopomo site and see how it can tie in with the theme for the month. The prompt for today is: If you could stop your body from aging at any point in your life, what age would you want to stay at and why?


That one was easy for me. Of course I would have to go back in time to do this, but I would pick 27. I had already had my twins, but my body was in the best shape it had ever been in. Of course this is about aging, so even if I had been overweight, I don't think the premise of the prompt would preclude the ability to lose weight. At 27, I'd still be able to take the pounds off fairly easily. 

Today, and really even in the past several decades, there has been a shift toward desiring to maintain one's youth. Plastic surgery, collagen injections, Botox injections, dermabrasions,  and now, shaving the pubes! Or waxing (!!) 

I could go on about this, but I have to eat lunch so that my food will be properly digested and I won't have to get up and go to the bathroom during my daughter's spelling bee today!

NaNoWriMo Fail and NaBloPoMo attempt

Okay, so I got just under 8,000 words this year. Pitiful. But I had fun anyway. So I'm going to take another attempt at National Blog Posting Month. Beginning December 1st, (actually, beginning today, since I'm posting today and tomorrow is the 1st) I'm going to attempt to make a blog post everyday....See you tomorrow!

NaNoProMo

It's National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo, though as one friend calls it, "NaNoProMo" National Novel Procrastination Month. We are one day past the half way point and I am not even a quarter of the way done. I'm not even quite an eighth of the way done, but I have confidence that barring a power outage, I'll get past that "hurdle" by the end of the evening. I am also Municipal Liaison for the first time, and let me assure you, my ML duties have in no way intruded upon my word count. I just have such ADD that I feel like I have to check this out, and this and this, and on the Office of Letters and Light Blog I found this amazing post about a wrimo (that's we NaNoWriMo participants are called) who is writing her novel from Antarctica! There was a link to her blog, so of course I had to go there and go all the way back to the beginning of her blog where she is beginning her Antarctic journey! This is only one example of how I am procrastinating. Writing this post is another. And when I publish this post and log off, I'll go to Facebook and see if there is any important information from any of my friends or relatives that has been posted.

The Scenic Route

I was visiting Christine Fonseca's blog today. I became so enamored of my comment to her post (actually a post of a post) that I decided to re-post here.

Hmmmm….I can relate to Benoit. I think that has been me for much of my life. Or maybe I just wanted my journey to go the scenic route? VERY scenic? I turned 44 today and never became the if-not-famous-then-at-least-self-supporting actor I wanted to be. I never did even get so much as a bachelor’s degree in anything. The most writing I ever do is during NaNoWriMo. It has taken me 10 years of doing that to finally realize that my writing does not completely suck–not that I consciously thought that, or why would I bother writing at all? But why on earth would I think it was good enough for publication? And why on earth did I have to decide to choose preferred professions that are so difficult to earn a living solely on that profession alone? So I dropped the acting aspirations in favor of motherhood, and put the writing in a semi-holding pattern….and now that I am in my mid-forties, am I too old to think I could ever be a published fiction writer–I mean other than on lulu or create-space or a blog….

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1.02.28

NaNoWriMo 2010

This is the 10th(?) year that I've participated in NaNoWriMo . Last year was the first year I "won."  I am Municipal Liaison for my region for the first time ever because our former ML moved out of the area. I feel like I'm doing grown up things! I guess it's about time, since I'm almost 44, I have 3 kids, two of whom are almost 20...so I guess I've been a grown-up for a while....

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1.02.28

REALLY?!?

Geez! On the second day! I blow it on the second day!! I should have just written first thing, but nooooooooo, I kept saying, "Okay, after this one more thing...."  Gaaah!  Well, I'm not going to let it stop me from trying to continue blogging everyday for the rest of the month. I won't qualify for "winning" NaBloPoMo this month, but hopefully it will give me the good habit of posting everyday.

NaBloPoMo June

I think this is my 3rd attempt at NaBloPoMo. We'll see how it goes. I don't plan on going out of town this month, so I should be able to post every day.

Today, I found out that my last living grandparent died on Friday morning. If I had been checking my email more regularly, I would have found out sooner, though there was really nothing for me to do. She had really left us a long time ago due to Alzheimer's. I'm kind of sad, but at the same time, it was really time for her to get to rest. At this moment, I don't have much more to say. I might edit more later, but I need to eat lunch so my blood sugar doesn't drop too low.

Walking

Just updated again....I'm too tired to re-figure out how I put that calendar in that previous post in the first place. I'll do that another day....

More Walking and Writing...and Stuff

If you look below at my May 4 post, I have updated my calendar. I know. I haven't done much in the way of walking regularly. Ceana and I didn't walk to school today--I was afraid of getting rained on. I am hoping to walk home with her from school today, but she mentioned wanting to get picked up. Maybe tomorrow...

I have been writing off and on, but not my Morning Pages à la Julia Cameron.

I do feel the need to get back into that. Even this little bit of writing I'm doing here does help. A bit.

I am working on a knitted baby blanket for a friend of the family who just had a little girl, so other projects (like dishes, laundry, general housekeeping) tend to go by the wayside until things like that are done. To procrastinate further, I have also begun a drawing supplies holder for my daughter. I am making it in cotton thread using Tunisian crochet (afghan stitch).

I guess that is about "it" for now....hopeful more later...

Walking and Writing and Weights

In Stephen King's On Writing, he wrote that when he is writing, he writes every day. He writes at least 2,000 words per day and he walks four miles per day. For him, the walking helps to clear his head. He suggests other writers do the same, but for those not in the habit, to start of smaller--like maybe 1,000 words per day. This is my plan. I started on May 1st. I got the walking in. He allows for one day off per week--but only one. I took Sunday off from walking and writing. Apparently, I have also taken Saturday and Monday off as well. At least I did do some writing. I wrote in at least one of my blogs every day. Not nearly 1,000 words, though. I keep staring at the blank page on the screen. I have so many different ideas, I wish I could type them simultaneously. I realize I could type them all out on the same page, but I am having a hard time deciding which one to write first. Hopefully, today I will suck it up and just do it! I will keep you posted on my progress!

Trying to Tune Out The World

Franz Kafka wrote: “Silence, I believe, avoids me, as water on the beach avoids stranded fish.”

He also wrote:

Writing that springs from the surface of existence—when there is no other way and the deeper wells have dried up—is nothing, and collapses the moment a truer emotion makes that surface 
shake. 
That is why one can never be alone enough when one writes, why there can never be enough silence around one when one writes, why even night is not night enough.
- Franz Kafka - Letters to Felice

I’m feelin’ ya Franz. When am I going to be able to be in a silent house for any length of time? I can’t go to a coffee shop—the music is too distracting. I want to write, but I need silence and that fucking TV won’t shut up!! 

Okay, I just got them to turn it down. Someone is supposed to be coming along to shut the door all the way….any time now…..really…..any….thank you. I’ve tried earplugs, but they hurt. Geez! his voice just carries! He simplymust vocalize. And now he has stopped due to the protests of his younger sister. Oh wait, I can hear him again…normally this would be fine, but I am really trying to focus and pretty much any sound that isn’t ambient throws me off kilter.

This is Warhol’s Kafka. I couldn’t decide between this and the following:

I felt I could relate to the mood of this one.

I Hate Nature

There are some loud birds in my back yard. They are so loud I am thinking about calling the police. It is difficult to concentrate. I would like to let my cat, Max out there, but he is declawed...  Am I evil?

My Review of SHAPE UPS - ACTION PACKED

Originally submitted at SKECHERS

Increase your activity level in the SKECHERS Shape Ups-Action Packed shoe. Leather, synthetic and mesh upper in a fitness walking lace up sneaker. . for Shape Ups email updates of new styles, colors and sizes!

SHAPE UPS - ACTION PACKED

I Love My Shape Ups!!

By Writinginmyhead from Murrieta, CA on 4/24/2010

 

5out of 5

Sizing: Feels true to size

Width: Feels true to width

Arch Type: Average Arch

Pros: Absorbs Shock, Durable, Comfortable, Lightweight, Attractive Design

Best Uses: Standing all day, Pavement, Shopping, Walking

Describe Yourself: Casual/ Recreational

I love that the Skechers Shape Ups provide a lot of cushioning. They have much more shock absorption than any other athletic shoe I have tried. I feel like I can stay on my feet longer because of this.

(legalese)

Ramblings on Free Coffee

Free Starbucks Coffee day! Bring in a reusable mug and get a free brewed coffee! As my barrista was pouring my cup, I overheard the other barrista asking the next customer if she wanted "Pike's Place" or the "Stronger Brew" (which turned out to be Café Estima). I peeked across the counter and and noticed the "Stronger Brew" was already being poured into my mug, no questions asked. She knew.

When I pulled up there this morning, I noticed a man standing out front, off to the side. He looked like he was waiting for someone. He had an earpiece on and appeared to be talking to someone. My point here is that there was a "person" I was going to to have to Walk Past to get to my Free Coffee. I thought I had already dealt with my quota of pre-coffee interactions. I had made sure my nine-year-old got dressed and arrived at school on time and I took my hubby's suit and shirt to the cleaner's, having to deal with a total of three people before I left (Besides my daughter and the woman at the dry cleaner's, I also had to deal with my 19-year-old son, but only briefly. Of course I realized I was going to have to interact with others in order to receive my Free Coffee, but I had already factored that in to my plan. I was hoping I could wait until I entered the establishment for the scent of the beans to disperse just enough caffeine to give me the strength to order.

As I surveyed the scene before me, I noted that I could avoid walking past this man - blue jeans, long sleeved navy t-shirt with writing on it, nicely trimmed salt and pepper gray hair, who was possibly a descendant of Pacific Islanders - by walking in between a couple of SUV's. Sideways. I would also be risking the possibility of getting the morning condensation on my fat stomach and ass and I would really have to contort to get past the vehicles. It occurred to me that the man might notice my slight detour and laugh mockingly (albeit in his head, but then what would stop him from recounting the story of how "some racist lady made a big wide circle around him just to avoid walking past him" to his friends. I cringed at the idea of perfect strangers mocking me behind my back.) at my behavior. It's just that I hadn't had my coffee yet. I decided that dealing with a Person was not as bad as getting laughed at (even secretly) so I sucked it up (that's what she said) and walked past him.

"Good morning." I wasn't making eye contact, but I didn't want to be a complete dick so, I mumbled, "Good morning."

After getting my coffee and sitting down in a padded chair - digressing a bit: These are not the nice, soft comfy coffeehouse chairs. While they were large enough for me to sit criss-cross-applesauce (the politically correct version of "Indian Style") they were armless and leather or more likely, faux leather bound. There were two little end tables. Very cute: wood base with tops made of what looked like some sort of compound mixed with decorative glass. It looked very nice. I took a picture with my Blackberry, but I lost my USB cable for it, so until I find it or get a new one, I can't post any pics from it because I also cannot seem to pair my phone with my computer using Bluetooth. My computer appears to support Bluetooth, but when I try pair it with my phone, it doesn't find it. Okay, back to the part where I sat down in the chair.

So I sit down to read On Writing by Stephen King, with my Free Coffee and turkey bacon & egg white sandwich on whole wheat English muffin, when three motorcycle cops walk in. My dad is retired from the Los Angeles County Sheriff Department. These officers wore a similar green and khaki uniform with a six pointed star for their badge, although they were sporting the knee high black leather boots. After they got their food drink and sat down at the table closest to my chair (also closest to the exit should any crime related emergency arise), and guess who is with them? The "Good morning" guy. The more I stole glances at him, the more I realized he was quite likely also a comp, though off-duty. His right arm had one of those ACE bandages wrapped all up and down--which is why I thought he was wearing a long sleeved shirt at first. I think my mind saw short-sleeved over a white long-sleeved shirt...

They all seemed to be having a good time socializing and as they were getting ready to leave, a group of women came in with two little kids. One of the moms asked if they could take their kids' pictures on the motorcycle. Apparently, the little girl who could not thave been older than four (I'm thinking 3-1/2) has always wanted to be a "policeman on a motorcycle" (!) Now this is a cute little girly girl with long blonde hair and blue eyes. Of course they said "yes." She looked so cute up there, I wanted to take a picture too, but how weird would that have looked to take a picture of someone else's kid?

Lists

Every place I've ever lived:

1. Glendale, CA

2. La Crescenta, CA

3. Tujunga, CA

4. Valencia, CA

5. Frazier Park, CA

6. Saugus, CA

7. Glendale, CA

8. Canyon Country, CA

9. Valencia, CA

10. Banning, CA

11. Beaumont, CA

12. San Diego, CA

13. Murrieta, CA

All the Jobs I have Ever Had:

1. Babysitting

2. Paper route

3. "Down" routes (when newspaper carriers go on vacation or call in sick, I was one of the people who took over their routes)

4. Newspaper collections dept.

5. Waitress

6. Pizza maker

7. Snack bar attendant (short order cook & cashier)

8. J.C. Penny sales associate

9. Nine West Shoes sales

10. Family Chiropractic Front office

11. Assistant paralegal

12. Collections paralegal

13. Stay at home mom

The seasons and holidays I love:

I love Fall and Winter the best. Growing up in Southern California, I appreciate a cool, cloudy day. I grew up not celebrating holidays for the most part, though since I was raised "half and half" I still had some holidays, so I guess all the ones centering around food, candy and gifts: Christmas, Easter, Halloween and Thanksgiving. Probably in that order. I think if I celebrated now, I'd like Thanksgiving the best, though knowing the origins, does tend to put a damper on it for me.

All the Words that Describe me:

Witty. Pretty. Fat. Frumpy. Sexy. Laid back. Intense. Creative. Depressed. Bored. Excited. Skilled. Average. Exceptional. Introverted. Friendly. Writer. Knitter. Crocheter. Mom. Wife. Daughter. Sister. Reader.

Feel free to add more...

Everything I'm good at or simply know how to do:

Okay, come on! That I KNOW how to do? I can go potty all by myself and tie my shoes...I can sew, but I don't like to. I can clean house, but I'm not good at it. My allergies act up too much. I can cook and bake fairly well. Write, crochet, knit, draw, act, type, ride a horse, drive a car, drive a car with manual transmission...ummmm....word games, scene it, Trivial Pursuit, Apples to Apples....ummmm....I can't think of anything else right now...that I want to post on a blog, that is.

Topics on Which I am already an expert whether others know it or not:

I am an expert at not doing housework...but many are already aware of that...I really do not think I am an "expert" on any topic. I do know the Bible fairly well...at least from the P.O.V. of one of Jehovah's Witnesses. Oh! I know! Television shows--classic and current, Movies--classic mostly and some current. I guess there are many topics that I know "a lot" about, though I still wouldn't consider myself to be an "expert."

All my current or past hobbies:

As a kid, I liked to read, write, draw, watch TV and old movies, listen to music and crochet.

As a adult...just add knitting to that list. I probably don't listen to as much music as I did when I was younger. I just can't concentrate when I'm writing if there is music (with lyrics) on. Or maybe I do listen to about as much music, but maybe I'm trying out different music.

Topics that have been on my mind lately, especially those that I have been writing about in my journal or blog:

Mainly just writing...screenwriting and novel writing. I've been thinking about type II diabetes, and keeping a healthy heart--making it healthier. Procrastination. Pending empty nest syndrome.

The one topic I would choose if I had to write about only one topic for a whole year:

I can't decide: the ups and downs of raising kids? weight loss? diabetes? writing? Maybe writing. Maybe about the ups and downs of trying to write while raising kids--and how Christina Katz is going to help me!

LONG time

Okay, so it has been a couple of years since I last posted here. I want to get back into keeping up with this blog--even though I have another tumbler blog with the same name. But Tumbler is different. Like I said in my last post, I have a LiveJournal blog but that is more of a secret--though this one is somewhat of a secret right now....I'm working to gradually change that...we'll see...