the writing on the wall

This is one of those things I have always struggled with. I am either hilarious (in my own mind) and really insulting (to everyone else), or I am polite and just well…blah. Think about this. I have talked with a writer friend of mine, often, about writing a book of my own. He is a writer, and we talk about the fact that I write geeky fan-fiction. I had an idea at one point for a kind of chick-y book about a video gamer. Really. How many geeky novels do you read about girls? I thought, hey, this is a GREAT hook. It started off well, and quickly turned into a whoa is me, my life stinks, female-complaint-boy-to-the-rescue type of story. I stopped writing it. I didn’t want to be THAT writer.

Someone like Sophie Kinsella takes a character like Rebecca Underwood through situations that every woman worth her salt has found herself struggling with, and adds such humor, that I find myself envious. I must be trying too hard. Seriously. I mean, I can be funny. People laugh when I make snarky comments. But I seem to have trouble WRITING them. In stories. In blogs. I’m just gonna have to stop trying. Maybe that lackadaisical attitude my kids get when they find something to be to difficult is the way to go. But that can’t be right.

I’ll figure it out. Really I will.

Ok. I’m a couple days late, but here it is…

“Write about your wedding song. What was it and why did you choose it?”

Way back in 1998, I was planning for the wedding of the century. MINE! My husband was ready, and all we had left to do is pick our wedding song. Three years earlier, my brother had chosen a Van Halen song. I thought that was the coolest thing ever. And if my husband had his way, he would have chosen something like Laid by James…for shock value. It thrills him to no end to show my proper NY-Suburban family and friends that real and rural is a little more cool!

But I prevailed, and selected “You’re My Home” by Billy Joel. Why? I’ll tell you why.

Reason Number 1. I am a Long Island girl through and through. It does not matter that I’ve lived more than half my life in Massachusetts. I does not matter that I am a Boston sports fan. It does not matter that my immediate family (Mom and siblings) no longer live here – and neither do I. What matters is no beach can compete with Long Island beaches, no personality can compete with the personality of my friends, and no memory (except the birth of my children) can top the memories I have of “the island.”

Reason Number 2. Relates to Reason Number 1. Billy Joel is from Long Island. ‘Nuff said.

Reason Number 3. I am a pianist, and find that Mr. Joel’s talents as a contemporary and rock writer are second to none. At least as far as I’m concerned. His music is catchy. His words profound. And he is a story teller.

Reason Number 4. Billy Joel wrote “You’re My Home” and it truly is the perfect “story” to describe the love that my husband and I share. We are different enough, but so compatible. It makes no difference where in the world we are…as long as he’s with me…I am home.

Many of you might be wondering why, after almost 40 years of life, I am doing this Couch-to-5k program. I thought I’d share with you some of the biggest reasons I have for doing it.

10. The Big 4-0 is looming.

9. Improve my overall muscular strength and endurance.

8. To feel a sense of accomplishment at completing my first ever 5k (and then maybe a 10k).

7. To lose weight.

6. Did I mention I’m going to be 40 this year?

5. To get healthier.

4. To stay young.

3. To reduce my blood pressure.

2. To show my kids how important it is to remain active and stay healthy.

And the #1 reason I have for doing the Couch-to-5k program is…

…I feel really good when I am done with my run.

I may battle while pushing through my workouts, but how I feel after…it’s like a drug…I feel really good. I believe part of that is mental (sure, I just called myself mental!) because I’m so convinced that running will make me feel better, that I actually DO feel better. You may have noticed that I mentioned my age, not once, but TWICE. I’m not dreading 40. As a matter of fact, I look forward to EMBRACING 40. Many people can’t believe I am going to be 40. I like that. And I will continue to do whatever I can healthfully do to stay young.

Get out there and run. It’s good for you.

Ok. That’s an easy one. And aside from the original Star Wars trilogy, this movie single handedly catalyzed my jump into fantasy fiction – both novels and movies. This movie covers everything…it is the classic tale of good versus evil. Ironically, the side of “good” is represented by a pirate, a giant, and a revenge-seeker. While the side of “evil” is represented by a not-so-charming prince.

It is a tale worthy of Cinderella status, and yet, holds so much more than the classic tale. My favorite scene has to be in the Thieves Forest, with Miracle Max. “You rush a miracle man, you get rotten miracles.”

What is your favorite scene from this movie? When it comes on television, do you watch it? Have your kids seen it?

This is the list of current, or very-soon-to-be-current, movies that I’d like to see this summer.  I haven’t seen a summer movie list this long in a very long time.  I’ll probably go broke.

Charlie St. Cloud
Letters to Juliet Saw this one with Vee.  Totally predictable. Thoroughly enjoyable.
Twilight Saga: Eclipse
Toy Story 3
The Sorcerer’s Apprentice
Grown Ups
The Karate Kid
The A-Team
Eat Pray Love

From time to time, I go through periods of wanting to blog often, and blog loudly.  And as many of you out there know, there are times that there just isn’t time to blog.  Still, at other times, you might find yourself trying to find something to write about.  As any aspiring writer knows, your brain is really the only “asset” you have, and if you let it sit, unused, it will get rusty.  This is where I find myself recently.

And so, as always, I find myself looking for good things to write about.  One of the quickest ways for me to find decent topics is to read other blogs, and yes, follow hundreds of people on Twitter.  I never understood the draw before, but I am addicted to Twitter like nothing else.  And, as written about here before, I love social media of all kinds.  So when my dear friend, Dawn, posted Mom-In-A-Million – Tag archive – My Saga on Facebook, I had to click on it.  Let me tell you that I was skeptical, interested but skeptical.

I am a book fan, and more than that I am a Harry Potter fan.  I find that Ms. Rowling’s world is able to bring me out of any funk I might be in, and so, when Ms. Meyer’s Twilight was presented to me, I was a little eh when I began reading.  And of course, like so many others out there, I became a fan.  I felt that the writing was mediocre.  But she could spin a tale.  And that’s what I look for in a good book.  Back up a few paces, and bring on the Harry Potter films.  And there is a lot of criticism out there for this series.  But, as a true fan, I could find no fault with the adaptations.  I realize that Hollywood has constraints, and as any business, they need to look at the big picture, and think about future films.  I could wax eloquently here, on all current movies in the series, but they probably each deserve their own post, and if you are interested, let me know, and I will be happy to oblige.  It’ll give a good excuse to re-read and re-watch each installment without familial reprisals.

Getting back on topic, so when I clicked through to Mom-In-A-Million’s page (who is, I should clarify here, NOT my friend Dawn), I saw links to four posts – one for each book in the Twilight series.  First, let me just say that I read the first post, and was hooked on this blogger.  She is funny, articulate, and is not afraid to say what she thinks.  Go to her page.  Yep.  use that link in the second paragraph of this post.  In the section of Recent Posts you will see a link to a post she calls Mama Kat’s Writer’s Workshop: Change, please! The phrase writer’s workshop jumped out at me like a beacon, and of course I had to click on it.  Mom-In-A-Million’s post was wonderful.  You really should go and read it yourself.  But it was not her post that brings me to this point in my ramblings.  Within that post, there is a link to Mama Kat’s Writer’s Workshop.

I participated THAT DAY.  I also found a whole network of bloggers.  I found theSITSgirls. I found BlogFrog.  I found all sorts of ways to motivate myself to blog.  More importantly, to write. And so, with that in mind, I am dusting off my brain, taking it out, stimulating it, turning it on, and I hope to exercise it every day.  Don’t expect a post every day.  I’m not that good yet.

EDIT: So anyway, go to BlogFrog and sign up for your free account there.  Then you’ll show up HERE (over to the right, anyway…see?  right there —>) letting me know you’ve been here.  I like to know people are reading what I have to say.  It makes me feel important.  Or interesting.  Maybe a little of both.  Show a girl some love.

…pursued the childhood dream of singing and acting.  No, not in the Disney-triumvirate sort of way.  But, I definitely have said to myself, “What if…” on more than one occasion.  Additionally, whenever I come close to asking Mom, “Why?” I always stop myself because, well, is it really about me?  No.  It really isn’t.  And I’m sure, as a working mother, putting herself through graduate school, while her husband worked long hours in the city, my mother made the choice that was the smartest and wisest choice for the family as a whole.  But here’s the story.

When I was nine years old, I went to see the musical, Annie, on Broadway.  I was enthralled.  Music became my drug of choice.  Years later, at dinner, probably while visiting home on break from college – with a boyfriend, no less – Mom mentions a phone call they received during dinner one night from the producers of Annie, because their daughter had written saying she wanted to be in the play.  I didn’t believe her.

Are you a runner?  I don’t consider myself a runner.  I have bad ankles; bad knees.  I loathe physical activity in all forms.  I’m happy sitting at my computer, at my piano, at a crafting table.  However, when you are my age, you start to think about ways to stay younger; healthier.  Learning to eat right is one way.  Getting regular exercise is another.

On June 22, I started a program to train for a 5k.  I’m sure many of you have heard of it, because it’s for people like me, who sit on their behinds most of the time.  It’s called Couch-to-5k.  Not only is the training program free, but there is, for a nominal charge, an app for the iPhone/iPod Touch, that will let you listen to music and tell you when to begin your walk intervals and run intervals.

So how does the training program work?  There are three sessions a week, and over the course of 9 weeks, you go from being unable to run, to being able to run a 5k.  I have completed as far as Week 2, Day 1.  In the first week, there is a 5 minute warm-up walk, a 5 minute cool-down walk, and in between there are intervals of 1.5 minutes of walking and 1 minute of running.  I survived Week 1.  And I actually I felt pretty good.  Tomorrow, I start Week 2, Day 2.  Week two increased the walking to 2 minute intervals and the running to 1.5 minute intervals.  I find it very hard to believe I could actually hit a 5k run at this rate, but I’m working on it.  And seemingly losing weight in the process.  This is a good thing.

Even more amazing is that I am following through on something.  I have no desire to stop.  As a matter of fact, I find myself wanting to run/walk every day.  This is also a good thing.  How did I go forty years without daily exercise?  I feel great.  Ever consider running?  Do it.  Do it now.  I’ll support you. Really. Friend me. We’ll get healthy together.

This post was originally posted at The Leaky Cauldron.

Until recently, I have never considered myself a *crafter*. At the age of five, I was a young first grader. And who would have thought that I would have picked up a skill, a crafting skill, at that age, that would stick with me for life. Now, almost thirty-five years later, I am still knitting and crocheting. And, I think that I don’t knit and crochet for the finished product. Sure, I like to finish creations, but I have come to the realization that I knit and crochet for the pure joy of knitting and crocheting. I like to feel yarns…gaze over patterns…

Sometime, ’round about eighteen years ago, I discovered beads. All shapes, all sizes, all materials. Findings were magical, clasps were divine. Honestly, when I look back at the items I made that long ago, I can see where my designs were flawed. Amazing how age matures our vision.

Three years later, I attended a scrapbooking party. Here was a practical hobby. I could take all those pictures I have hiding away in a box, and put them into some sort of historical order, with stories to go with them, before I got too old to remember them. It’s funny how I spent money on things like scrapbooks, and die-cuts, and stickers and markers, and here we are, fifteen years later, and they are still in their packaging…pictures still in their storage box.

About 4 years ago, I started stamping…took a class…went to a workshop to create greeting cards…the world of paper crafts had opened up to me. The results were beautiful, and after a reasonable investment in tools, I lost the time to invest in my new-found hobby.

Now, I regularly knit and crochet, as well as design beaded jewelry. But my latest foray into crafting trials is needle felting. I have attended one of two classes with my nine year old daughter, and needle felting appears to be one of those hidden hobbies. You know people do it. You don’t know how they do it. But their creations are wonderful…fantastic…whimsical…my daughter works diligently on a panda, while I selected a set of two owls. I completed one during the first class. I’ll complete the second in a few days. I named the first one Hedwig.

This, then, is my realization, and my statement. I am a crafter. When I had the opportunity to look back and think about all the things I most like to do…crafting was the clear winner. But I craft for crafting’s sake…not for any other reason. I take pleasure in the product, but more so, the process.

I am a crafter.

This post was originally posted at The Leaky Cauldron and has also been cross-posted to my other blog, knitting through the twenty-first century.

If it ain’t in progress…

…don’t start it. Ok. So I paraphrased here. The point is…I have an incredibly BAD habit of starting new projects. I start them, all gung ho…ready to go and then…

They sit.

Current works in progress:
1. A Cardigan for Arwen. This was to be my masterpiece. I selected a wonderful Malabrigo worsted in a color called Marron Oscuro. It’s like a rich chocolate color. Beautiful. I couldn’t wait to wear it. It’s barely started, but I carry it with me wherever I go in the hopes that I can work on it.

2. February Lady Sweater. Uh…yeah. The Ravelympics did nothing for the completion of this project. It is still sitting in a bag, in a pile of bags, in the corner of my living room.

3. Amigurumi Elephant. This crocheted cutie was started as a gift for my daughter’s 3rd birthday. She is now 4. And one month. I was going to do a whole zoo of animals for her. Desire is there. Who has time???

4. My First Pair of Socks – EVAH. Another Ravelympics fail. Shame on me.

5. Talia Vest. This should be done. I just need to add buttons…and ship it out to California. Why haven’t I done so???

6. Clapochet. Started in the fall as a neat crocheted clapotis. Is it ok that it’s not finished? In my opinion, no. It’ll be done by fall so I can wear it. I hope.

7. Lace Dress. Don’t even get me started. Think I’m about 4 rows in. Started in the fall. There is a specific intended recipient, but I don’t know if I’ll finish it. Might re-direct the yarn for another project.

8. Luna Bag from OotP. I LOVED the bag Luna had in the fifth movie…when she was feeding the thestrals, barefoot, and Harry found her. It looked so neat. I’m sure it was not a knit bag, but I decided I would MAKE a knit bag that looked similar. I started this well over two years ago. Maybe I’ll have it done by the time the LAST movie comes out.

Ok, that’s 8. I can understand having a large project that you sit in front of the TV with; a detailed project that you can’t work on with your mind on anything else; a small project that you can carry with you every where you go; a secondary project in crochet (if most of your projects are knit); and even a gift project. But that’s only 5. Not 8.

Probably the most embarassing of projects is the Talia Vest, as it is just about done. It was supposed to be my mother’s Christmas present, but I left the buttons at a friend’s house and have yet to go pick them up.

And here I am contemplating The Great American Aran Afghan. I mean, if my friend and I work on one square a month, that shouldn’t be too hard, right?

How many WIPs do you maintain at any one time? If I hit 10, I will be extremely disappointed in myself. I don’t like being disappointed in myself. I better not hit 10. Hopefully by the next time I write, that number will have dropped and my finished projects number will have risen.

Wishing you soft yarn and good coffee…

This post was originally posted at The Leaky Cauldron and has also been cross-posted to my other blog, knitting through the twenty-first century.