Guilty

No one is perfect.   

Why we all feel guilty for this I’ll never know. 

When big storms hit a ship out on the sea, the sailors take precautions. They do everything they can to keep the ship and their lives safe. But if the storm is bad enough there comes a point they tie off the wheel and hold on. Are they feeling guilty that they aren’t doing more? No, because there is nothing else they could do. Sometimes life is like that. Sometimes life is a raging storm and all we can do is hold on. Why we feel guilty for not making time for lunch with friends, or crafts for the home, or 100 percent home grown food I’ll never know. We need to hold on, and we need to be grateful that there is something to hold onto. That not every moment of our life is like this. 

Because it isn't. 

We can only do what we can do. And some days that's a lot, and some days that's a little. 

Some days it's all we can do to hold on. And that has to be enough.And that has to be okay. Who would want to read about a character who feels guilty and apologizes for everything? So who would want to live that life?

I hope that in 2015 we can let go of the guilt, and learn to live again. I think that all starts with feeling grateful.Today I am grateful for my kids. They are sick as dogs right now and I didn't sleep at all last night, but this is just an illness, something they can get over quickly, and return to their normal, happy lives. Not every child is that lucky. So I am grateful.

today

I'm in Denver house hunting but I couldn't let today pass without a post. Four years ago today I published my first post on this blog. It was short, pathetic, and didn't have any readers. But it was a beginning. My first step on this road where I would find so many friend and support. Thank you all for four wonderful years.

One of a million

I need some advice. 

With our move I’m going to lose the email address I’ve been using for my writing. It comes through our internet provider which will no longer be our provider when we move. I’ve looked to Gmail to get a new one but my name is so common there is no combination that isn’t already used. 

Does anyone have any advice on how to get around this? Are there other, reliable, free, and professional email services? Are there ways to use my name that are unique enough I’m not the millionth person out there using it? I’ve thought about doing  ‘(my name)author’ but is that presumptuous or off putting? 

I need to get this figured out so I can start transferring everything but I don’t have a clue what to do. Maybe I need a new name. Anyone else have this problem?

As a bonus I hope you enjoy this article on what not to say to an author. 

Pathway to success

I was reading a book and came across this little gem.

Overnight success is a myth. I'd been working since I was too young to remember, dedicating myself to the wire, but celebrity can happen overnight.  GIRL ON A WIRE by Gwenda Bond

It's true, people don't get accomplished overnight. My father sent me a quote my freshman year of college.

The heights by great men reached and kept were not attained by sudden flight, but they while their companions slept, were toiling upward in the night.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Celebrity can happen overnight. All of a sudden someone's name is everywhere, their book is selling, they're making all sorts of best seller lists and everyone is talking about them. Just because we didn't hear about them yesterday, last month or last year doesn't mean they weren't working towards their goal. Fighting, struggling, feeling depressed and overwhelmed. In otherwords walking the same path we all walk.

Keep it up. Your books are coming, your celebrity may be next. But for now, keep toiling, because you will never reach success without hard work.

Waste Not, Want Not.

I hate waste. 

I have a hard time looking at something that is still good and throwing it away. Not because I need it but because it will be wasted.  I've been trying to clean and organize for our move and all my drawers and closets are filled with miscellaneous things I don't need and don't remember having. 

I've had to become hard core. It doesn't matter if it's still in good condition. If I haven't seen or used it in years, and can't imagine ever needing it, I'm getting rid of it. Most of the stuff is going to salvation army so it will get a good home. Maybe. It just won’t be cluttering up my closets. 

If I can’t stand to let some plastic piece of junk go, how much more does it hurt to let my own life go to waste? I’m going to clean, de-clutter, find time to write and live to the fullest. Because I can throw away clutter, but I won’t throw away myself.

Happy New Year

Happy New Year!

I hope everyone has had a great holiday season!  I only made it to 10:30 last night but plan to celebrate the new year up right this morning.

I'm not going to lie, last year was a very difficult year for us. By November not only had I lost the desire to write, I lost the desire to read. I was pretty stressed and overwhelmed but a little bit of time taking a step back has really helped. I'm feeling that itchy twitchy need to curl my fingers around a pencil or pound them into the keyboard. I can't wait for everyone to go back to school and work so I can get writing again. 

The year went out with a bang. Despite the fact that each of us had had a flu shot four of the five of us got the flu over Christmas. Not our most festive holiday ever but we're well on our way to recovery.

Also, right at the end of the year The Engineer recieved a job offer and we decided to accept. Which means

WE'RE MOVING!

We're heading out to the Denver Colorado area as soon as we can sell the house.  We're simultaneously excited and terrified. But it also means that there will be time in the future when everything is packed up that I'll be unplugged. I'm sure I'll keep you posted.

Yep, life will continue to be busy, but I'm sticking around for a bit. I'd love to hear how everyone is doing. Drop a comment and let me know what's up with you!

Checking in

I hope everyone that celebrates it had a wonderful thanksgiving and that rest of you had a great time doing whatever it was you did. We had fantastic but busy holidays. It might take a day or two to recover.

I'm still on a blogging hiatus until after the new year but had to wish you all a happy Thanksgiving and share some of these links. 




Why it's so hard to catch your own typos.

50 ways to be a woman (no this isn't writing related but I thought it was interesting, even if I didn't agree with everything)

10 things never to say to a writer.

Why trusting your inspiration will make you a better writer


Hope you are all dong well, I'd love to hear what you've been up to in the comments!