Revisit

It’s funny how I come back here every now and again with the hopes that I’m going to pick up writing again and maintain this blog. And I never seem to make it happen.

It sits here like that pair of shoes that I love, but never get the chance to wear. I glance over to admire it, but all I do is wipe off some dust, try it on to see if it still fits, then put it back on the shelf.

The last post was over a year ago. I was brought to another WordPress blog from a colleague today and thought, “hey, you still have one of these.” Then that glimmer of motivation…I should write more. I should be here fixing up this blog and maintaining it.

I still think about it. I want to do it. Here I am. Revisiting.

*shrugs*

Maybe I’ll show up again. Someday.

Revival

I’m not really one for New Year’s resolutions, but I’m feeling like it’s time for me to breathe some life back into things that I love.

I’ve started using this blog again, and I’m not making any promises, but I might use it for a while. At this point it’s just serving as a digital diary or a place for my brain to dump. Either way, I’d like to come back.

There are other things that I need to pay attention to so I hope that one thing will keep leading to another.

We’ll see how it goes, I guess…

The Secret of Life

People spend a lot of time wondering about their purpose in life. Why are we here? WHAT DOES IT ALL MEAN?! Dramatics aside, it’s a valid question. What do we do with this life we’ve been given?

I don’t know. I really don’t have any answers. All I know is, tonight I grabbed a book, and then I contemplated if I was supposed to drink tea or wine with my book. And then I thought about the author, Marina Keegan, and the fact that she was such a bright spark for such a short time. She fiercely wanted to be a writer. I believe she probably wanted to be a lot of things. And she probably was. However, her writing, even in its developmental stages was so moving, that after her untimely departure, the teachers and people who knew her gathered her writings to publish a book in her name. They did this because they strongly believed that her words had to be heard even after her death. That her potential had been snuffed out too soon. And that she deserved to be heard.

So, I’m pouring a glass of wine, and I’m going to start reading her book, The Opposite of Loneliness. I’m going to wrap myself up in her stories and absorb a little bit of the writer that I will never get to know. Just like a glass of red wine makes me feel like I can sit in Spain with Ernest Hemingway, or in a squalid apartment with Charles Bukowski, or in an Italian restaurant with Elizabeth Gilbert.

Everything in this life should be an experience, from hiking Kilimanjaro, down to reading a book on your sofa. The secret to life? It’s just to live. Live every moment. Every feeling. Every word.

 

Popcorn for Lunch

I had popcorn for lunch. Because I’m an adult.

I watched Julie & Julia. Again.

Hours later, I’m still here on the couch, watching football and finding kernels stuck to my shirt. And wondering why it’s been almost 2 years since I touched this blog.

And wondering if I’ll ever really get back to it.

And wondering why I’m still not writing even though I’m reading voraciously and dreaming about all the things I should be writing.

Things I should be writing. Because the whole goal was to get my life back on track so I could make the time to write. So, now that I’m back on track, how do I make the time?

This is where I’m supposed to teach myself about work-life balance and learn that there is always time when you are truly passionate about something.

And I am. So I will.

Paradise Lost

I remember when I looked forward to writing. I’d sneak it in whenever I could…in random notebooks, on various Word documents scattered in my laptop, even on PostIts.

But I haven’t actually written much of anything in a very long time. I’ve let work consume me, and in turn, forgotten what I was actually working towards. 

I miss it. My brain misses it. My heart misses it. And whether or not someone out there is going to read it, I have come to the conclusion that I need to force myself to find the time for it. 

To be continued…

Look! An Award!

I think I’ve made it
clear how much I love Twitter, right? I mean, without it, who would be reading
this right now? Besides my family….hi, guys!

So, Jana is someone I met
on Twitter who is so much like me that it scares us both. We are always
discovering new things that we have in common that are incredibly weird. To
give you an example of the creepy….my husband and I watched Limitless a few
nights ago and when I tweeted about it, I found out she and her husband were
watching it at the same time.

I love her blog, The Bee’s Knees and
apparently she loves mine because she was sweet enough to include me for the
Butterfly Award!

Ok, so, here are the rules:

1. Link back to the awesome person who gave you the award
2. Share 7 things about yourself
3. Answer the following questions below
4. Award this to 15 bloggers

Seven things about myself:

1) I can juggle

2) I’m a tea drinker. Nothing fancy, just a nice hot cup of Lipton tea. Sometimes black, sometimes
green.

3) I wish I could ride horses more often.

4) I love Philly sports. I grew up with 1 brother and 3 sisters and we all love sports.

5) I always wanted to have a weeping willow tree in my yard.

6) I’m nuts about movies. I want to watch them and have discussions about them. Old, new, good, crappy, it doesn’t matter.

7) I am a terrible swimmer.

Questions:

Name your favorite color-
Blue. And green. I love them both equally. Calming and beautiful.  

Name your favorite song-
All Along the Watchtower – Jimi Hendrix

Name your favorite dessert-
Ice cream. I love ice cream. Chocolate ice cream. Yes. That.

What wizzes you off-
Wizzes me off? Um, this is tough because if I give something enough thought, it
stops “wizzing” me off. I could say internet trolls that insist on
insulting everyone, but then after a while I just feel bad for them.  

When you’re upset you-

Take deep breaths. I’m
impulsive, so it’s best to keep myself occupied with breathing so I don’t swear
in front of the kids.  

Your favorite pet-
I love dogs. Maggie is a 6 year old black lab mix that we picked up from a
shelter. She is the sweetest, loviest, happiest thing EVAR. The cat came with
the husband and we have a love/hate relationship. Fish are stupid. I think I
covered that in a previous post.

Black or white-
I’m not really sure what I’m choosing here.  

Your biggest fear-
Heights. Heights give me panicky, dizzying fear. Also, heart palpitations.

Best feature-
My eyes. I’m not sure if I really like my eyes that much, or I’m choosing the
cop out answer.

Everyday attitude-
It changes daily. I like variety. Today could be “Persistence!” Tomorrow may be “Lethargy.”

What is perfection-
The fact that nothing is perfect.

Guilty pleasure-
Too much celebrity news. I try to stay away from the gossip, but really…isn’t it ALL gossip? I think I just gravitate to it because I always wanted to act. Maybe I derive some vicarious satisfaction from it.

Now I’m supposed to award this to 15 ah-mazing people, so, here goes:

Wendy

Crystal

Jennifer

Rusti

Adrienne

Jenn

Jen

JC

Debi

Kimberly

Kim

Carrie

Dana

Kelly

Natalie

So, there ya have it. Those are 15 of my favorite bloggers. Go check ’em out,
you’ll love ’em too! And thank you so much, Jana, for the award!

Little Boys Lost

I generally try to avoid the news because all too often, it’s too depressing.  I might skim over a news site to educate myself on what’s going on in the world, but I don’t read every article or sit through an hour of the news on television.  We are all aware there has been an overwhelming number of suicides being publicized recently.  While I usually try to stick to topics that are not so saddening, I think these kids need their voices to be heard since they can’t speak for themselves anymore.

Asher Brown

My heart aches for these parents.  I imagine they have spent many hours wondering what they could have done differently.  Endless tears shed for the boys they will never see again.  These victims need to be remembered.  Look at their young faces.  Remember their names.  Think about what you can do to be there for your loved ones, so that they don’t fall prey to the same fate. 

 

Billy Lucas

As parents, we want the best for our kids, but we don’t always have the answers. What we can do is try our best to create an open and honest relationship with them.  Talk to them, support them and most importantly, accept them.  Accept them for who they are and what they want to be.  Support their decisions and provide guidance when they need it.  These children are ending their lives over what other people think about them.  They are dying because they had been pushed so far down by others that they couldn’t bear to live another day and put up with it.  How does this happen?!

Seth Walsh

I don’t know what happened to these kids.  I don’t know if they told their friends, parents, or any adult that may have been able to help; I don’t even know if they received any help at all; What I do know is, whatever happened, it wasn’t enough to keep them on this earth.

Tyler Clementi

Raymond Chase

 

Please, get involved.  Remember these faces and use them as an example that we have to listen AND act to help our kids and our friends and our students.  Make our kids aware that they have a support system.  Let them know that they have a voice.  Most importantly, help them understand that they are wonderful no matter who they are.  If we cannot get rid of the bullies in this world, than we can arm our children with the confidence to be proud of who they are and the ability to stay strong.