Good, sunny, chilly afternoon to you, my friends! First day that I've felt mostly myself in a bit - we've had a few nights too many this week that I've spent on the floor in my kids room. If there were a way to explain this without me feeling, er, totally idiotic, I totally would :-) Suffice it to say, it's felt a bit like having half a brain for a little too long.
However, at wits end with our family's nightly shenanigans, I asked my husband to do the bedtime duties with the kids so I could write Thursday evening. I determined I would write for 30 minutes. Yes, it was 10:30 pm (yes, my parenting award dreams have been out the window for a few years now!) and I was beat, but I was also disgusted with my life flapping loosely, askew, and off-kilter. Balance is the goal, good writing time is the reward, and I'm going to finish this story if it's the Last Thing I Do. (er, that was the idea, more or less.)
I wrote, edited, noted, ruthlessly hacked, decided on a few name changes, tightened some pace, and wallowed in that gloriously Writerly Feeling for an Hour!
Totally slacked on Friday. I had trouble that day even getting dinner on the table (if memory serves. Which it doesn't, always. I simply don't remember it. But I know i sure didn't write!)
Having time to myself at the hair salon Saturday ( my 80% grey is now tastefully hidden once again) I grabbed my notebook, plugged in Ugly Casanova 'Barnacles', 'Cat Faces', and 'Smoke Like Ribbons', and wrote three pages, longhand. I worked on backstory, descriptions, motivations, characterizations. For 30 minutes, on my writing day off! Whee!
Saturday was also my last voice lesson with my talented and excellent teacher Joy. I'd taken lessons because I like my voice, well enough, but it tends to tighten, crack, and go ridiculously pitchy when I try to do things like....audition for choirs for holiday services, for instance. Seriously, if you can't make it through Amazing Grace, they can't particularly, um, use you (rightly so, I might add!). So, Joy taught me how to work on my breathing, support, control, and tension at home. She also gave me sensible pointers to manage nerves at Open Mic night on April 27th. Apparently, the contest is a Poetry/RAP contest, so I can't wait to see how my Nordern Minn-ah-SOH-tan accent stacks up against South St. Paul rappers! Pretty sure there's some good potential comedy waiting to happen That night.
And, that brings us to today. The first day I've worn pretty shoes since December first 2010. My wedding shoes, in fact. They went well with my cream-colored pants and are the most comfortable pair of pretty shoes I've ever worn. And, having Not been used for 8 years now, they're still in pretty good shape.
And, so far, the rest of the day and most of next week seems to be in pretty good shape as well.
I hope you all can set your day and week the same, if not spectacularly better! Thanks for coming by, and if you want to check on other ROW 80 challange-ers, click here :-)
However, at wits end with our family's nightly shenanigans, I asked my husband to do the bedtime duties with the kids so I could write Thursday evening. I determined I would write for 30 minutes. Yes, it was 10:30 pm (yes, my parenting award dreams have been out the window for a few years now!) and I was beat, but I was also disgusted with my life flapping loosely, askew, and off-kilter. Balance is the goal, good writing time is the reward, and I'm going to finish this story if it's the Last Thing I Do. (er, that was the idea, more or less.)
I wrote, edited, noted, ruthlessly hacked, decided on a few name changes, tightened some pace, and wallowed in that gloriously Writerly Feeling for an Hour!
Totally slacked on Friday. I had trouble that day even getting dinner on the table (if memory serves. Which it doesn't, always. I simply don't remember it. But I know i sure didn't write!)
Having time to myself at the hair salon Saturday ( my 80% grey is now tastefully hidden once again) I grabbed my notebook, plugged in Ugly Casanova 'Barnacles', 'Cat Faces', and 'Smoke Like Ribbons', and wrote three pages, longhand. I worked on backstory, descriptions, motivations, characterizations. For 30 minutes, on my writing day off! Whee!
Saturday was also my last voice lesson with my talented and excellent teacher Joy. I'd taken lessons because I like my voice, well enough, but it tends to tighten, crack, and go ridiculously pitchy when I try to do things like....audition for choirs for holiday services, for instance. Seriously, if you can't make it through Amazing Grace, they can't particularly, um, use you (rightly so, I might add!). So, Joy taught me how to work on my breathing, support, control, and tension at home. She also gave me sensible pointers to manage nerves at Open Mic night on April 27th. Apparently, the contest is a Poetry/RAP contest, so I can't wait to see how my Nordern Minn-ah-SOH-tan accent stacks up against South St. Paul rappers! Pretty sure there's some good potential comedy waiting to happen That night.
And, that brings us to today. The first day I've worn pretty shoes since December first 2010. My wedding shoes, in fact. They went well with my cream-colored pants and are the most comfortable pair of pretty shoes I've ever worn. And, having Not been used for 8 years now, they're still in pretty good shape.
And, so far, the rest of the day and most of next week seems to be in pretty good shape as well.
I hope you all can set your day and week the same, if not spectacularly better! Thanks for coming by, and if you want to check on other ROW 80 challange-ers, click here :-)
Your posts always leave me frazzled and dazzled :) Open Mic night? How fun! I can't sing worth a &%$#! Of course it doesn't stop me from singing songs about my pugs.
ReplyDeleteIf it makes you feel better, I have to do my roots every two weeks! Ugh!
Heh. After taking 4 weeks of voice lessons, I'm feeling more sensibly humble about my sound :-) Happily, the open mic is for Poetry, not singing. However, I tense up my throat (and, oddly, my left arm) so much from nerves that I'm grateful for my teacher's pointers -even for spoken word they Will come in handy.
ReplyDeleteFrazzled makes sense. Everyone mulling over parenthood should read me at Least once a week. And, Claire Farrell, TWICE a week! (er, how Many Pugs do you have? Do you have pics up? Pugs ROCK!)
I'd never have guessed every two weeks - you wear it very, very well :-)
Wow...and you have time to WRITE??? Go you!
ReplyDeleteaw, thanks Lauralynn :-) My life demands writing in Short Bursts - which is why I have a good slug of poems and only one short novella, er, in process. 'S all good, though - my own fault to wait until my late thirties for parenthood!!! Thanks for the boost, I'm hoping for another good and motivated week! Keep rocking on your own goals too!!!!
ReplyDelete