Good Morning

Finally woke up at a decent hour and made a cup of coffee sufficient enough to read in bed and write a poem or two. I don’t really know how it happens and would probably make a terrible instructor for writing workshops. There is no formula or plan. Just write. The outlines aren’t even “proper” outlines; it’s just a ton of notes that become a first draft and then a second. The first draft is always hand written. I prefer that method because something about writing by hand makes you retain more memory, that I’ve heard of. But maybe there’s something about it that helps you think; kind of like your imagination holding your hand and guiding you through. What it is your actually walking through varies person to person. Sometimes the process can't be taught, only learned, 

This is being typed with confidence but later on I’ll probably read this and think, “This is just my mouth running a mile a minute because of coffee.” Either way the words are out there and it doesn't diminish how true they are. 

Well, This Went Great

So much for the whole Post-on-Friday thing. Don't let that sentence mislead you, I'm not beating myself up over it. Spent Thursday vomiting and everything spiraled from there. Luckily, I was able to return to work today. Currently, I'm at the edge of my seat; not in anticipation, the cat plopped his fat ass in my office chair and is refusing to budge. Just looking up with those sleepy yellow eyes as if to say, "What? I was here first."
Good old Fred.
Get a secret project together and for those of you wondering yes it does have to do with writing. This is the first of many amazing things to come. I've finally reached a point where I'm tired of saying "when" without actual progress being made. That's it for now, just letting you all know I haven't slipped on this commitment already.

There isn't a title for this because, frankly, I can't think of one; this is a reflection on the fast I partook of in January and what I took from it. First and the obvious: I had a lot of time on my hands without social media on them. instead of flicking through cat and food photos in the morning I decided to journal, whether it be a dream I had the previous night-usually of the travel or lucid variety- or a list of gratitude. The mornings when the cat comes to visit are especially nice!

Another thing is that it gave me so much time to write. Again, obvious, but nevertheless well worth mentioning. There are definitely social media platforms I can live without and can ween from others. I plan on doing another fast in the near future and,hopefully, will create worthwhile content in the meantime.

I compiled a list of projects to finish and dreams to accomplish. As for content on this blog I've worked out a schedule, Fridays are good, and there are going to be bool reviews here and there. That's it for now. Hope you're all doing well. 

In The Fast Lane

January is a clean slate for those of us who celebrate the New Year on January 1rst. Any portion of the year can be a New Year when ever you celebrate it, but for this lady it's January and tomorrow I'm starting the 21 Days of Fasting through my church and giving up social media, which includes this blog. So, for the next three weeks there will be no posts and I'm sure there are many of you who are like, "Well, there's hardly any posts on here anyway."

Touche.

This, however, is completely intentional and has a purpose. The hardest part is going to be Facebook, Instagram, YouTube. I fasted YouTube last year and realized how much time was left and how many uploads were just sitting there waiting to be consumed. 50 of them and in reality I would have watched half, BUT that fifty video accumulation could still happen because I watched repeats of things and there was no in watching something completely different. 

*insert Monty Python reference here*

*insert complete elation at someone getting alluded to reference*

In regards to what this fast is for that'll be kept to myself. So, here's to a prosperous fast!

My Top Books for 2018!

I can’t believe 2018 is over; now’s the time for me to reflect on my top favorite reads-or listens in the case of audiobooks-and gear myself up for next year’s literary adventures! In the first place, my reading goal was to read 65 books this year and the total was 62. That’s magnificent and by no means a failure! We got rid of cable and switched to an antennae and Roku which has cut down TV watching tremendously.TV just became an automatic, unnecessary time-suck that’s better off done with background asmr videos and audiobooks. By the way, I highly recommend the YouTube Channel asmr rooms; she mostly does Harry Potter background videos that range from the common rooms to Christmas at the Weasley’s. I started listening to them on my Kindle Fire during the night while reading; even got my sister hooked on them and she says they knock her out at night. My absolute favorites are The Gryffindor Common Room, Hogwarts Library, and The Three Broomsticks Inn. My sister’s are Shell Cottage, The Prefects Bathroom, and the Slytherin Common Room.  Now here are my top 10 books of 2018!

The Haunted Mansion graphic novel volume 1 by Marvel I’m a Disney fanatic and this is one of my favorite rides, so the fact that they based an original plot on the ride was amazing!

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Annie Barrow and Mary Ann Shaffer It’s about an author(WIN!)people ae brought together through reading and books(WIN!)it takes place right after the occupation(WIN!) and it’s told through letters(WIN!)

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society audiobook The cast was fantastic and I absolutely adoredit! This book is now one of my favorites of all time!

Bone by Jeff Smith the series bind-up Imaginative, quirky, and hilarious!

The Book Jumper by Mechtild Glaser There’s a sequel to this as well but the first is my favorite. My 

whole life I’ve dreamed of just falling into a book.

Wolf Hollow by Lauren Wolk This gave me To Kill a Mockingbird vibes. Very nice!

Stalking Jack the Ripper by Kerri Maniscalco A beautiful gothic historical fiction. I bought the other to immediately! If you like mysteries, pick this up.

The Healers Apprentice by Melanie Dickerson This beautiful romance had me so enthralled that I reserved all her other books immediately.

Also just finished The Orphans Wish by Melanie Dickerson, which is a retelling of Aladdin and it was amazing.

Yes, there are only 9 but I, for real, can’t think of a tenth one and just throwing one in would be wrong.

Aside from reading, it’s been a pretty good year. I made a the decision to just be finished with school and stick with an Associate’s Degree.  Here’s to a fabulous 2019! I’ve already made my list of goals and will keep those to myself for now.

What I've Learned so Far

1. I grew up running around barefoot and if it were possible would roam the world that way
2. I leave the house enveloped in the scents of an herb garden, most people ask what smells like oregano or lavender and it's always me
3. Books taught me to say goodnight to the moon, so naturally this means to not only treat human beings with respect, but the earth and its cosmic neighbors as well
4. Not the best at editing, but that's been outweighed with plenty to say; I just have to polish it up beforehand
5. I have two separate lives, The adult trying to be a good educator and influence to younger people and the little hippie that stays up too late writing and wants to navigate the world-preferably on foot(bare, if possible), by plane, train, and bike(once I've mastered the art of riding one ;) ).
6. Nanowrimo works. I'm a day behind but at least it's helping with working on a deadline and thinking critically. Come to think of it, critical think is such an arbitrary concept when your working with fantasy and fiction elements
7. Learning more than one language is a superpower

That's it so far, figured jotting this down was a great idea. Have a beautiful day

Camp Nanowrimo has finished and I didn't meet my word count goal of 25,000 BUT, I still consider this a tremendous win because words were put to paper every day,I worked on other projects, submitted work to a contest, and all in all, fell in love with writing again. So, major breakthrough there; I dug around in the closet and unearthed old notebooks from high school bursting with stories, poems, and lists of names. I transferred the name lists to another notebook and starting revamping a past project from school that I feeling strongly about. The characters never left when I decided to put that project on the backburner which meant that they themselves weren't wrong just the story. So, here's to the new one.

The reading routine has made a fine comeback and also a realization: I want to be an author more than anything. Right now I'm working a job I love with great coworkers and the next semester is coming up meaning my semester off is coming to a close. I've made the decision that if I become a full time author I won't go back to school; I already have my Associates degree but won't feel the need to finish my Bachelors. I'd also like to point out that after watching The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society(fantastic film! Lily James is a treasure!)I was hit with a nostalgia that came out of nowhere-sitting up way past bedtime to scribble away in notebooks with a Harry Potter soundtrack in my earbuds.  That's the key focus-that writing is worth doing because it's fun and a day dream I'll never quit.