Trick or Treat!

Happy Halloween!

Well, it's a dreary, gray day here—and just in time for Halloween. We're supposed to get rain and high winds tonight, which makes me feel bad for all the kids who are looking forward to trick or treating. (Mine included.) Yesterday was absolutely gorgeous—sun, warm temperatures, no wind. It's funny how it always seems to work out this way. I remember very few warm-weather Halloweens from when I was a kid. Usually it rained—or snowed...

Regardless, my husband and I will be taking the kids out tonight, even if we have to shorten our route a bit. Afterward, we'll come home and warm up, and then the kids will eat some candy (a special Halloween tradition!) and go to bed. (Friday is still a school day after all!) As for me, I plan on sitting down at midnight to crank out a few words for NaNoWriMo. Cross your fingers that I'm not exhausted before that!

What are your plans for today and tonight? Whatever you do, I hope you have a wonderful Halloween! ☺


Happy Halloween to all my blogging friends!

And this is why I love Tuesdays...

Happy Tuesday, friends. ☺

I don't know about you, but I love Tuesdays. I love that Tuesday is one of the two days of the week that my daughter doesn't go to preschool. Not only does that mean I get to have more mother-daughter time, but it also means that I don't have to go anywhere unless I want to. I love stay-at-home days!

Another reason I love Tuesday is because it's not Monday.☺ Monday, while technically the second day of the week, always feels like the first day to me, and it always seems to drag...

Tuesday is also great because of songs like this one, which somehow don't sound quite as good to me any other day of the week:


Lyrics here.

"There's no time to lose, I heard her say
Catch your dreams before they slip away
Dying all the time
Lose your dreams
And you will lose your mind.
Ain't life unkind?"

And in light of those lyrics, I love Tuesdays—particularly this Tuesday—because it's a new day to follow my dream. NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) starts on November 1, and I'm all signed up and ready to write. Next year at this time, I'll have a six-month old baby, so who knows if I'll be able to participate then. Instead, to paraphrase the Stones, I'm seizing the day—catching my dreams before they slip away. And that's as good a reason as any to love today. ☺

How about you? What do you love about Tuesdays? Carpe diem, friends!

Wishing you all a beautiful day.

Sunday inspiration

Happy Sunday, friends. ☺

Halloween is almost upon us. When I was a kid, it was one of my favorite holidays. I loved carving pumpkins and dressing up to go trick or treating—even though I grew up in Michigan's cold Upper Peninsula and that meant that most years my costume ended up being hidden by a heavy winter coat! My kids, Iron Man and Rapunzel, can't wait for the day to arrive, and I have to admit that I'm looking forward to it too. How about you? Do you have any favorite Halloween memories?

In honor of the holiday, here are two inspiring videos showcasing the amazing creations of pumpkin sculptor Ray Villafane. Enjoy!






Wishing you all a creative and inspirational Sunday. ☺

Friday fun

Happy Friday!

Thank you so much for all your positive thoughts and well-wishes. I'm happy to say that things are looking up now. Time and a little perspective really help. ☺

Do you have any plans for the weekend? I'm hoping to rest up, do some writing, and recuperate from this past stressful week. Wishing you all a great weekend!

funnysigns.net



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funnysigns.net

When life gets you down

Happy Wednesday, friends!

I had planned a happier post for today, but sometimes life finds a way to mess up our plans, doesn't it? Anyway, one of the not-so-good curveballs I was thrown over the summer has returned. I don't want to go into specifics because it's kind of hard to talk about, but I'd really appreciate any positive thoughts you can send my way.

Over the years, I've learned that one thing that helps me when I'm down is poetry. Its language is universal, and when we read it, we all take something different away. I find solace in the words of others; I get lost in them and am able to forget (for a time, at least) whatever it is that's bothering me. (And sometimes a little chocolate doesn't hurt either!) When the curveball came yesterday, though, it felt right to lose myself in some poetry, like this piece by former U.S. Poet Laureate Billy Collins:


(Read by Billy Collins and animated by Julian Grey of Headgear.)

Where do you turn when life gets you down?

Wishing us all a wonderful Wednesday. ☺

Oh, baby!

Happy Monday, friends. It's so good to be back. I can't tell you how much I've missed you all! ☺

I'm sorry I've been gone for so long. Life threw me a couple of curveballs (both good and bad) right after my August vacation, and since then I've been having a hard time getting back into the social media habit. I've been quite the reluctant recluse for the past few months, but I'm so excited to join you all again!

So what's been up with me? Well, if you don't mind, I think I'll leave out the bad. The good, though, is amazing. In August I learned that I'm pregnant! The news was a big (and welcome) surprise! I'm a little more than fifteen weeks along right now, and although I'm very excited, I'm also a little nervous. It's been more than four years since I had my youngest child. Yikes!

Oh, baby!
Image courtesy of Marja Flick-Buijs, rgbstock.com

Today is the first day in months that I haven't felt like crawling back into bed the moment I got up. Pregnancy this time around is very different; it's definitely an adjustment. I have a lot less energy, take a lot of naps, clean only when absolutely necessary, and don't cook nearly as often as I used to. It's all I can do some days just to keep up with the kids. I've also been working on making room for one more person in this tiny house. I see a rummage sale in my future—or lots of trips to Goodwill. ☺

Thank you for all your kind comments, e-mails, and tweets. I hadn't been online much, so I didn't have a chance to read many of them until this past weekend. I'm so grateful for them all—and I'm so happy to be back!


Wishing you all a fantastic Monday. ☺