Take a line from a song that you love or connect with. Now forget the song, and turn that line into the title or inspiration for your post.
“On the road again….. Just can’t wait to get on the road again…”
Loved that song and it was rolling through my mind the whole time I was on my road trip. I haven’t gathered up my pictures yet, so stay tuned for the “Road trip follow up” blog!
I don’t know about the rest of you, but I get really excited about road trips.
I am leaving on a road trip today and what is unique about this one is that I am going by myself. This is a new and exciting adventure! I have always gone on road trips with my family. Packing the car, making sure we have snacks and that everyone has all their needs met has always been my “job”. Today, however, is all about making sure “I” have everything “I” need and that all of “MY” needs are met. So very unusual!
So, as I am gathering up my “stuff”, I can’t help but be a little bit apprehensive. What if I get tired? What if I get a flat tire? What if I get in an accident? As I create more and more “what if’s” in my mind, I began to get a little bit scared about heading out on the open road by myself. I have a tendency to do this to myself and it is definitely something I need to work on! Calm down and enjoy the trip, is what I tell myself over and over again!
Phew… take a deep breathe…put my head in my happy place…have fun and don’t worry…
Ok, all better now!
I really am totally excited and I KNOW everything will be fine. My husband offered to go with me, but I am pretty excited about just getting away by myself. Who knows what exciting adventures I may encounter and what great blogging ideas I may see along the way.
So, away we go. I look forward to writing about “Road trip – 2” when I can post pictures and tell stories of the encounters I may have along the way and the great experiences I may enjoy after arriving at my destination!
Happy blogging! Talk with you soon!
Just of little pinch of “me” and who I am.
I was raised an AF brat so was raised all over the world. I’ve got to say that that is probably what helped to turn me into “me”. With all of the moving I did as a child, I had to learn to adapt and make friends quickly as I was not usually in one place long enough to have that “life-long” friend that many people have.
My father retired from the AF when I was 12 and we moved to Colorado. This was the start of 7th grade (which was called Junior High back then) and boy was that hard! We had just moved from Louisiana and I was the fat little red head with a southern accent that knew no one. I dropped the accent pretty quick to eliminate one of the things that made me stand out. Luckily for me, I made a good friend fairly quickly and hence began my turn at the “life-long friend. I am now 55 and still friends with the first ‘life-long’ friend I was ever capable of having.
The rest of my life was pretty average. I participated in drama in high school and totally loved the storytelling and the being part of a story, but never did pursue it until recently. I went to college and got a BS in Early Childhood development, which I also didn’t pursue for very long. I eventually landed a job doing data entry which opened many doors for me and quickly worked my way up to IT management.
Two husbands and two kids later. I stopped working to become a full time mom and moved to a couple of other states and eventually making my way back to Colorado again. During my ‘stay at home’ mom stage, I had many part time jobs, my favorite of which was substitute teaching. “Oh, horror!” some of you may say, but I loved it! I especially loved the sweet, kind and loving middle school kids (I say ‘tongue in cheek), but I did very much enjoy the special challenges that they bring to the table.
Finally, deciding that I hated going to a 9-5 everyday and fighting traffic and having to beg for a day off when I or a family member was sick, I decided to start working from home, where I have been for a year now. I work as a virtual assistant and have been writing the bedtime story I used to tell my kids when they were little. It is in the process of being published right now! Whoopee! And I can’t wait to get started on the 2nd book in the series (as soon as inspiration hits me)!
So, having left some major details out of my pinch, you now know a ‘pinch’ of me!
I have lived many places, but there is “no place like home”. As an Air Force brat, I grew up in many countries on many continents. Each place was my home. I have never had a hard time to adjusting to a move and have enjoyed the diversity of each move. It does make it much more difficult to say where “home” is when you have moved as much as I, but the trick is to make each place your home and focus on which part of each home or you live makes you feel safe, comfortable and happy.
I have lived in my current home for three years now. I love it and have created my own sanctuary. My sanctuary is on my front porch. My front sidewalk is a pathway through trees, it is shaded in the summertime and protected “mostly” from the snow in the wintertime. Wildlife abounds and I am able to watch the foxes bring home their daily catch, the robins struggling to pull their morning breakfast from the ground and then take their bath in my birdbath. I have also had the extreme joy of watching a pair of Kestrel’s build their nest and prepare their offspring for their journey into the big world.
My sanctuary allows me the time and space to meditate, think and enjoy the wonders of my surroundings. It is very tranquil, cool and calm and is the place I think of when I think of the expression, “there is no place like home.”
Daily Prompt: There’s No Place Like Home
“The Uni-verse is impersonal. It gives alike to all. We see abundance in the Uni-verse. We cannot count the grains of sand on a single beach. The earth contains untold riches, and the very air is vibrant with power. Why, then, is man weak, poor and afraid? The Science of Mind deal with these questions.
The ‘Plan’ is one of Freedom. Freedom is the birthright of every living soul… Thus the inherent nature of man is forever seeking to express itself in terms of freedom. We do well to listen to this Inner Voice, for it tells us of a life wonderful in its scope; of a love beyond our fondest dreams; of a freedom which the soul craves.”
– Ernest Holmes, author and spiritual teacher.
I believe that this is something to which we must frequently be reminded.
“Stay true to your imagination and do everything in your power to keep the child inside you alive. I still live by these rules today, I am still a child at heart … Find your own personal style; your own voice, and explore it, refine it, perfect it. Then perfect it again. And most importantly, never give up. Remember that your artwork is a gift. Your pictures have the power to ignite dreams and inspire countless people.”-Stan Lee
Perfect quote that I found today. Great inspiration for every artist out there!
“Life loves to be taken by the lapel and told: ‘I’m with you kid. Let’s go.'”
– Maya Angelou, Angelou is an American poet, playwright, memoirist, actress, author, producer and an important figure in the American Civil Rights Movement.
As I was looking for my daily, or almost daily, quote that inspires me, I ran across this one and felt it was truly appropriate for this time in my life. I never thought that I would actually get my book published, but once it was accepted, I did decide to take “life by the lapel” and run with it. As a result, I have connected with many people who have very similar interests to me. I have discovered high school friends who are “best-selling” authors. I have discovered multiple groups on facebook, linkedIn, etc., that help to guide and encourage writers, both new and established. I have discovered that I have tons of friends out there who are wonderful and supportive rocks in my life and have given me the courage I need to continue to move forward and grab “life by the lapel”.
It has been a whirlwind last couple of weeks and I can’t wait to see where life will continue to take me on this journey.
I would like to express my thanks to everyone that has been following me and encouraging me and I hope that you will continue to share and like my pages, so that it can reach more people and I can have a large following by the time my first book comes out!
So, I’ve decided that while I’m waiting for something to happen on Book 1 – I should get started on Book 2…
Now where do I start? After doing a lot of reading and research, I’ve come up with some great ideas from other authors…
First of all I need to write the story I’d like to read, and being a child at heart, I will write about an adventure that I wish I could’ve had as a child.
Am I a planner or shall I fly by the seat of my pants? I have always been a planner, but somehow making lots of notes before I even start writing seems cumbersome. I feel that I will fit somewhere in between, I will make notes if quick ideas flit through my head and have just discovered the ‘notepad’ feature on my Ipad! After, I have the ideas, I guess I will just ‘fly by the seat of my pants’ and start making things up as I go.
I have decided on the story, hopefully the details will begin to fall in as I go. It seems as though the general consensus is to write a little bit every day and make it a part of my daily routine, even if it is only a few minutes or a few words. So, here I go…
After breakfast and a walk, of course…
It will take close to a year to actually have my book in print, but it is set to start production in October, 2013. Maybe editing will not take the proposed 3 months and I can, fingers crossed, get the printed copies sooner rather than later!
The Title of my book is “Sammi Jo and the BEST day EVER!”
It is the first book in a “proposed” series about a little girl, Sammi Jo, and her undersea adventures with her new friend, Screech, a sea serpent! I have been telling stories about Sammi Jo to my children and now my grandchildren for many years and finally decided to start writing these stories. This first book is basically an introduction to Sammi Jo and Screech and will lead to many more of their adventures.
I have been accepted by Tate publishing.. www.tatepublishing.com .. and hope to have a long lasting relationship with them.
I will keep you posted as the time for actually printing comes closer and hope to see many of you at my pre-launch parties, book signings, etc. This book will be great as an introduction to chapter books for the younger elementary books, although it has yet to be leveled, and I hope to see it in many classrooms around the globe!
dsavirtualworld.com 