And Now the Weather Forcast...

Doing crosswalk duty, especially in the morning, give you a lot of time to think.  No while I could be trying to think up solutions to different problems plaguing the world today, I end up coming up with a possible, and much more amusing, way of telling yo how cold it is outside.

This whole negative temperatures and wind chill factors doesn't really seem to get across to the general public of how really cold it is outside during these Midwest winters.  You could say that it is 10 degrees Fahrenheit with a wind chill factor of -7 but does that truly tell you how cold it it outside?  I've got a much better way.  Consider a system that tells you what body parts could go numb, freeze or just plain fall off if you were brave enough to step out your front door into winter's chilly grip.  It could go something like this:

Nose hairs will freeze in your nose
Boogersicles (booger icicles) will have from your nostrils.
Nipples will be permanently erect no matter what you are wearing.
Nose has fallen off your face.
Balls will freeze to your thighs.
Balls can now be used as ice cubes in your soda as they now have frozen off your body.

This is just a sample.  It can be expanded to help people better understand how truly cold it is outside.  Think of the lives that it could save

Observations From A Street Corner

To make a few extra bucks, I took a job as being a crossing guard before and after school.  It is a quiet job with lots of time to people watch.  Here are some things that I've seen since I started.

-The majority of people don't seem to know that it is actually illegal to block an intersection.

-It is possible to drive with just the palm of one hand while holding a cigarette in your fingers and your cell phone in the other.

-A lot of people are very interested in staring at their crotches while waiting at a red light. Either that or they are looking at their cell phones.

-It is not just kids that like the little stuffed animals that you get in the kid's meals at fast food places.  Adults like to use them to decorate the back of the car window with them.

-Being in the driver seat makes you invisible to people, which allows you to pick your nose without judgment.

-Sitting at a red light is a great opportunity to make sure that your make-up is looking good.

-Kids will wave at a person that they know and yell their hellos, even if the window is up.  This will often result in a cringe from the driver.

-Bungee cords are an acceptable way to hold loose parts of your vehicle to the body.

(There might be a part 2,3 and 4 sometime in the future)

You Did What?!

A random thought crossed my mind the other day when I licked off some sauce that had dripped onto my phone case.  Right after I did that not too hygienic act, it occurred to me that we truly do some gross things subconsciously everyday.

Why would our brains allow us to do such weird and gross things?  What purpose does it serve in our modern lives?  Was there actually a purpose in ancient times?

We are all told not to put things in our mouths but some how, we seem to forget that.  We will stick our pens, credit cards, paper clips, etc, into our mouth without thinking about it.  We will lick our thumb and use the spit to clean something off a child's face.  Who knows what could be on that kid's face?

And it's not just about the things we do with our mouths.  We touch our noses, our eyes and our ears after handling some not so clean items too.  Apparently, we are out to kill ourselves, subconsciously at least. Or maybe it is an ancient, internal instinct that allows us to introduce small amounts of bacteria into our bodies so that we can better fight off diseases.

New Life of Old Things

I started a second position at the school I work at today. They needed an extra crossing guard and its a few extra bucks added to my paycheck, so no harm there.  Plus I am always happy to help.  The school I teach at is an older one in a smaller town, which means lots of old buildings.  There are five on the corner where I stand alone.  I've always loved the older buildings and homes.  So much more character than the modern ones.  Take this one for example:

This particular building used to be the town's bank.  You've got the faux columns, the neat detail around the edge of the roof, a flag pole to display our nation's flag, and even a clock to tell customers the time.

Sadly, like all old buildings, they are not used for the original reason that they were built.  The bank is no longer a bank, but a cake shop.  The bars are still up on some of the windows, the flagpole stands empty on it's rooftop and the clock no longer tells the correct time.  It is forever stopped at 3:35.  This isn't the only building that is like this.  Like I said, there is 5 old buildings that I can see from my spot on the corner while waiting to help kids cross the street.

There is a building with the name of "Susannah Hill" and the year 1916, built right into the bricks of the building and cute little fleur de lis trimming the edge of the roof.  I don't know the original purpose of the building but it is now home to a sports bar and grill that also offers it's customers video gaming.  Another building next door has an old, faded painted sign that says " Hermann's:  dry goods, shoes..." with the rest of it being covered by the leaves of a sapling.  Next to that is 2 buildings that share a wall but have different names in the brick: "Geo. W. Hermann, 1911" graces one while "Felix Kuhn" graces the other.  This particular building is now home to a bar and restaurant.  Directly across the street from the Kuhn and Hermann building lies an empty building with the word "Dentist" in all capital letters.  Judging from the layout of the building, the front must have been the office space while the home of the dentist laid in the 2-story part in the back.

When you look at these types of buildings, one has to wonder what they originally held, who worked or dwelled within them (a few of these buildings being 2-story, with possible living quarters above the business).  Would the ghosts of the original owners be proud or saddened to see what now occupies where they earned their livelihoods?  What stories could those walls tell us if only they had mouths to speak?

This is what I often think about when I see old buildings or houses.  I'd love to know the history behind them and what was going on during that time to give the buildings the character they now possess.  The new bank now sits within a block of the old one, right in plain sight of the old bank"s front door.  The flag pole no longer has a flag flying proudly on the rooftop and bank customers no longer walk though the beautifully decorated doorway,  being greeted with the correct time.  I wonder if the building's soul misses all the townspeople walking through it's doors, guarding their hard earned money within it's safe.  I could ask, but I'd only receive the building's silent reply.

Too Funny

I work as a paraprofessional (otherwise known as a teacher's aide) at an elementary school.  It is my job to help children that are struggling with any of their subjects.  Recently, I have been working with several kids on their writing, both the writing of their letters and writing actual sentences.  One day, I was trying to get my first graders to practice writing by having them copy something that I had written down.  At first it started out as sentences about themselves but then it morphed into them writing corny jokes.  This got them really interested because once they were done, they got to read their joke out loud for the others in the group to hear.

After the day was over, I got to thinking about jokes and how when we were younger, we all had those silly and corny jokes that we would tell.  We read joke books and tried to pass the off the jokes that we found on our popsicle sticks as our own.  We laughed our heads off at any joke that contained the word "butt" even if the joke itself wasn't that funny.

As an adult, we still laugh at those corny jokes.  Some of us laugh because the jokes seem so stupid, while others laugh because they remember telling those jokes once upon a time.  I say don't laugh at them because they are stupid but laugh at them because your inner child finds them funny.  We often forget about our inner child in the day to day struggles of being an adult.  Our inner child reminds us to laugh at the silly things that life throws at us.  Embrace the silly, embrace the corny.  You never know what trials you will face during the day.  Life needs laughter, just like the body needs air.

And so, in the sprirt of my inner child, I leave you with my favorite corny joke:

What do you call cheese that isn't yours?
Nacho cheese

On Second Thought....PANIC!!!

Okay, I know that it seems like I am cracking a joke in the title but I'm really not.  As any good writer will tell you, it is important to grab the attention of your reader.  I don't often get serious but I feel that I need to address something that happened to me today.

I work as a paraprofessional and I got to attend my first teacher's institute day.  I got to travel to another school and take part in different workshops that would (hopefully) help me with the students that I work with.  There were tons of teachers from different schools at this event. According to the keynote speaker, there was over 850 people in attendance.  We were all herded into the gym, which became very crowded very quickly.  I've never been very comfortable in large crowds of people, especially people I don't know.  I find a seat near the edge so that I'm not wedged in like a sardine in a small can.  Then it begins.

The discomfort of all these people around me starts to take its toll.  It feels like my skin is crawling, the voices are too loud and it is starting to get too warm.  I get up, under the pretense of giving up my seat to another educator so that he could be by his coworkers.  My true reason was that I was so uncomfortable that it was getting hard to breathe.  I figure if I got up and stood by the doors, I'd be fine.  I'd be able to move and breathe.  Yeah, I wish it would have been that easy.

As I stood by the door, more teachers continued to come in.  It became more and more crowded and my safe haven was being invaded and the feeling of panic began to creep in more and more.  All of a sudden, the panic bomb exploded.  I couldn't take it any more.  I had to get out.  I all but ran out of the nearest door, through the commons and out the door that I had entered the school.  I couldn't breathe.  The tears flowed and I started babbling how I couldn't do it.  I needed someone to talk me down from the panic attack so I called my mom.  To make a long story short, she talked me down from the cliff of anxiety.  I began to breathe again and was able to hear the end of the keynote speaker's speech and attend the workshops.

Why am I talking about this?  Why is it important?  Many of us may know someone who suffers from panic or anxiety attacks but we may not understand why people have them.  If you suffer from them, you have probably been told to "just get over it"  or "there's nothing wrong with you".  For those that do suffer from these attacks know that it is something that you just don't "get over".  It is physically and mentally exhausting.  We don't know what will trigger these attacks or how long they will last.  We actually forget how to breathe, as impossible as that sounds, which is why many people who are having an anxiety/panic attack can actually pass out because we aren't getting enough oxygen.

The best thing that you can do if someone you know is going through an anxiety attack is help them remember how to breathe.  Talk them through it.  You can say things like "breathe in through your nose, out through your mouth".  Don't try to hug them during an attack unless they are okay with it.  Many times, a hug can make it worse since the person can feel like they are being enclosed without a way to escape.

Be kind.  Show compassion.  And always remember to breathe

I Need to Stop Fudgeling

Words are vital in the ongoing communication between others of our species.  Many words we use every day and most of the item, people actually know how to use them.  Other times, they don't.  To quote a line from the movie The Princess Bride "You keep using that word.  I do not think it means what you think it means."  It's important to know how to use those nice, big, long words that you find randomly in a book so that you don't sound like a complete idiot.

Now, when I was still in college, I was in a class designed to help me teach kids how to write and the professor had this great project for us.  We had to have a writing journal but it wasn't for just writing essays down in.  We could write anything we wanted, as long as it had to do with writing.  One of the pages that I created in my journal was a list of interesting words.  It didn't matter if the words were short or long, just as long as they looked weird when you spelled them out or sounded weird when you said them, then that word made the list.  Here is just a sampling of the words that I had on my list:

Triskaidekaphobia - fear of the number thirteen
This word, not only is it fun to say due to the fact that it is a phobia word, which is always a tongue twister, is a word that I actually do use (mainly on any Friday the 13th) and is a part of my mental lexicon (my mental dictionary, see you just learned a new phrase)

Schmuck - an obnoxious person
This is one that I seem to use a lot, especially if I am in a situation where I can't cuss and I need to express just how much I don't like a person.  It is just very satisfying to say.

Periwinkle - a shade of blue-violet, also another name for the myrtle plant and it is also the name of any variety of sea snails
This is one of Lee's favorite words, although he will just say it on random occasions when I ask him a question and not actually use it in a real context. Ha!

(brief side note:  I actually didn't know about that periwinkle refers to sea snails as well, so I learned something new today too)

Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious - as Mary Poppins said "its a word to say when you're not sure what to say", it's commonly defined as extraordinarily good
I bet when you read this word that the song from Mary Poppins started playing in your head.  And if it didn't, watch this clip of the song and then it will :-)
https://g.co/kgs/RGD3cS


So, what is the purpose of talking about all this?  Well, after working with kids, it is clear to me that a lot of the beauty of our language is being lost when people forget how to use all the great words that are available to express ourselves.  It is important that we remember to use the big words, the odd words and the silly words to express ourselves, not just the common and easy to remember words.  So in the spirit of expanding one's vocabulary, I share with you this page, which can also be found on Facebook.  Have fun and expand your mind!

Grandiloquent Word of the Day - http://grandiloquent-word.tumblr.com/

Until The Cows Come Home

My good friend Marie and I love to write and we are always bouncing ideas off of each other.  We came up with the idea of writing a short story where she wrote the firsrt half and I wrote the second.  This particular story came about after several text messages back & forth about random cow related things, including cow art.  So, before you read my part, hop on over to her blog to read the begining and the come back to read the ending. Enjoy :-)

Part One:  http://eclecticthe.blogspot.com/2016/08/until-cows-come-home.html

Zoey sighed as she continued to follow the other calves into the truck.  No matter how much her back hurt, she knew that she had to keep up the facade until they could find out where the cows were being taken.  The calves mooed softly in protest as they entered the truck's dark interior.  At least with the back of the truck being covered and the fact that there was no moon, it would allow Zoey to sit like a human being as they traveled to wherever it was that they were going.  It would allow her back to rest a little bit before she had to assume the cow position again.

It seemed like hours riding in the back of the dusty and slightly smelly truck when Zoey felt it slow down. She slowly got to her feet, but a truck hit a slight bump causing her to fall hard on her butt.  Great, just great, she thought to herself.  Not only does my back hurt from being all hunched over but now I have a massive bruise on my backside.  Zoey groaned but silenced it quickly as the door to the back of the truck opened.  She shoved the stupid mask back down over face and assumed the cow position.  She heard no human voices as she followed the cows out of the truck, down a ramp and into a brick building.  She had no clue where she was. Figuring since no one was around; she tried to give Lucy and Garrett an update.  

"Guys, we've stopped and all the cows have been unloaded.  Not sure what to do now, any suggestions?"

 Zoey paused to see if she got a response.  Static was her only reply.  "Great I'm out of range,” she muttered to herself.  Shrugging her shoulders and stuffing the walkie back into her jeans, she cow walked through the herd, looking around to see if she could figure out where she was or at least a way that she could leave.

She had almost made a complete circuit of the room before she found a black door, which it was a little wider than a normal door, that was tucked near a corner of the building.  Glancing around, she still saw no human beings, so she grabbed the door handle and pulled.  Once she pulled it far enough to poke her head through, her jaw dropped in shock.  The room beyond the door held three different stations labeled strawberry, chocolate and vanilla.  There were cows at each station, hooked up to automatic milkers.  The milk that flowed from the cows, through tubes and into huge steel vats corresponded in color to the flavor above each station.  Holy crap, Zoey thought to herself, they've figured out how to get cows to give flavored milk!  No one is going to believe this.  She inched herself further into the room to get a better look.  The cows looked healthy and happy, at least as happy as she had ever seen a cow.

Zoey stood up in the doorway and pushed the mask off her face, mesmerized by what she saw.  Maybe this was where bottled chocolate, strawberry and vanilla milk came from.  She had always thought that the bottled stuff tasted better than when she made it herself.  Then suddenly and without warning, Zoey felt her arms being forced behind her.  A gravelly voice hissed in her ear, "No one will ever believe you if you talk about this" then a hood was shoved over her head, turning her world black. 

Out of the Blue and Just Because

My best friend Marie and I have been friends since we were 8 years old.  Our friendship has survived many things, including her moving away right before we were going to start high school.  Back in those days, we couldn't call each other much due to the cost of long distance phone calls, but we did write each other: a lot.  This practice has continued to this day.  We call it "fun mail" because it is certain to be a bright spot in the day, considering that most of the mail we get as adults is junk & bills.  We even send each other little presents, which you'd have to admit, is always awesome.  These gifts are often referred to as "just because" gifts simply because there is no reason for them.

Recently, I had a text conversation with Marie that went like this:
Marie - What is your pants and top size?
Me - I wear a large in most tops, XL if a button up.  I'm a size 14 in most pants, a 12 in most slacks.
Me - Don't forget that I'm allergic to ramie
Marie - Are you a morning peacock or an evening peacock?
Me - I'd say evening since that time of day has more blues and purples
Me - Now I'm curious
Marie - 4 items will be in the mail
Me - I'm scared & intrigued at the same time
Marie - Happy unbirthday.  Just remember you are loved

A few days later, I received a box in the mail.  Inside was three items: a pair of pants, a top and a pack of very pretty postcards.  The morning/evening peacock question actually referred to the pattern on the pants.  The morning peacock pants are really pretty and so very comfortable.  (To see the pattern, type morning peacock into Amazon's search)  The 4th item had not arrived and according to Marie, it was to arrive separately.  The wait was worth it.

                                          What arrived in it's own little box

This bath bomb was huge, a lot bigger than the ones that I've used in the past.  As mentioned in a previous post, I love a nice hot bath since it helps with my bad joints.  I couldn't wait to use it.  Marie said that she used the same one and it turned her water blue.  Not just a light blue but so dark of a blue it looked as if she had filled her bathtub with blue window cleaner.

                                            Into the deep, blue waters

I have to admit, the blue water made me rather nervous.  Marie said it didn't stain her tub or the skin.  Either way I had a choice: get in the tub or waste a gift from a friend.  Decisions, decisions.

I took the plunge and it was wonderful.  There was flower petals floating in the water that came from the bath bomb as it dissolved.  It smelled lovely and even made the water feel silky against my skin.  And no, I did not come out of the bath tub looking like a Smurf.

I enjoyed all my "just because" gifts because they were sent with me in mind and they were sent from a very dear friend.  Now the question is, what will become the next "just because" gift and who will be the one that sends it?

Life is a Musical

My hubby and I went to see a play that a friend of mine was in called "Legally Blond: The Musical".  She had a minor part but we still wanted to support her.  Plus, it made us get out of the house.  We went with another couple and tried a new resturant called Gil`s.  (For those that ever visit Central Illinois,  this place can be found in a small town called Hanna City and they have amazing chicken.)  After dinner, we head to the theater, get our tickets and settle in for the show.

(Quick side note:  I did plays in high school and acted in a ren faire group for 3 years.  I enjoy acting but in my entire acting career, I never once was in a musical.)

Anyways, the play was well done and it was fun to watch.  My friend was so happy that we came to see her preform.  The play themed cupcakes that we got to enjoy during intermission were very tasty.  I had the Elle cupcake which was a pink lemonade cupcake with raspberry filling and lemon buttercream frosting with pink sprinkles.  My husband enjoyed the Emmett cupcake, which was a milk chocolate cake filled with caramel cream, topped with caramel buttercream and garnished with a chocolate dipped potato chip.  Lee said that the cupcake was pretty darn good but the chocolate dipped chip tasted pretty bizare.

Why am I even talking about this, you may wonder.  Well, over the next few days, my brain would randomly start creating musical-like tunes in my head.  It didn't matter what I was doing, just about anything would trigger the musical within me.  And I can only assume that it was because of the play.  Now, I have watched musicals on t.v. before and never had this happen.  I can only come to the conclusion that it was because I went & saw a live musical.  The music in my head  was enough to drive me even more batty than I already am.  Luckly, my brain stopped coming up with musical tunes a few days after the play.  I seriously do not want my life to be a musical.  I don't sing very well and if I had the people in my life singing upbeat songs all the time, I might just have to severe my 8th nerve.

The real test if this musical business in my head and whether it is just a fluke or will happen every time I see a musical live is what happens when I go see another live show.  Here's hoping that it is a fluke since I'd rather not have my life become a musical, even if it is only for a few days

Adventures in Cooking

I love food and I love to try new things.  So when I found a small cookbook entitled "500 Mexican Dishes" for $5 I knew that I couldn't pass it up.  I grew up in Southern California where I got to know good Mexican food.  I ate Mexican food at least twice a week growing up and when I was asked what restaurant that I wanted to go to for my birthday, nine times out of ten, it was a place that served Mexican food.

Needless to say, I am rather snobbish and critical of Mexican food places out here in the Midwest.  I've been known to critique everything from the flavor of the salsa to how the enchiladas are prepared.  Sadly, the area where I live now does not have a lot of good places to get Mexican food.  Many places have "softened up" what they serve since many people in the Midwest can't stand a lot of heat and spice to their food.  I once went to a place where instead of enchilada sauce on top of the enchiladas (either the green or the red) they served me enchiladas with a sauce that tasted like it was condensed cream of chicken soup.  Yuck!

Due to the lack of really good places to get tasty Mexican food in my town (plus not having a lot of extra moola) I often make Mexican food dishes at home.  I realize that what I make is mainly Americanized Mexican food, but at least it always has the spicy kick that I have come to expect in many Mexican food dishes.  When I came across this book, not only did it have different dishes but it had recipes to make your own sauces, corn tortillas and salsas.  I knew I couldn't call myself a true lover of Mexican food without trying to make a few of these recipes myself.

                                      My ingredients (minus the chicken)

I started on this cooking adventure by selecting a dish that I could barely pronounce, let alone had ever heard of: chilaquiles.  According to the book, there are many variations of this dish, but mainly it is a tortilla chicken casserole with a green chile sauce.  It calls for making your own salsa verde (another 1st for me).  The recipe for the salsa verde calls for canned tomallios.  I couldn't find them canned (another downside to where I live) but I did get lucky that the grocery store had tomatillos in the produce section.  So I made the salsa verde with with fresh tomatillos.  And it tasted pretty good.  One hurdle cleared!

                                          The before picture of the casserole

The actual creation of the dish was pretty simple.  It calls for taking half of the ingredients, top them with strips of corn tortillas and cheese.  The rest of the ingredients go on top and you top it off with the last of the cheese and tortilla strips.  Then comes the hard part: waiting for it to cook!

                                         After it came out of the oven

Finally, the moment of truth had arrived.  It was ready for the taste test.  My husband Lee and I both take a plate full and sit down to eat.  Some of the tortilla strips on top are a tad crunchy from being baked while others are soft.  The cheese is nice and gooey & the tang of the salsa verde could be tasted with the chicken.  I thought that it was pretty good.  Lee, however, felt that the taste of the sour cream mixture over-powered the taste of everything else.  He has never been a huge fan of the taste of sour cream.  He thought that it was good but it could definitely be improved upon.  Luckily, we both agree that we'd be willing to try this a recipe again and look into the other varieties that the book offers.

                                                       Yum, yum

Lazy Day

A while back my dear friend and fellow blogger sent me a book entitled "300 Writing Prompts"  It has 300 different prompts to get your creative juices flowing.  Here's the first one, only 299 more to go :-)

What is your favorite way to spend a lazy day?

A true lazy day to me is when I'm not obligated to do anything.  A day that is free of responsibility.  Ideally, I would be able to sleep as long as my body wanted to.  (Now mind you, my cats would probably wake me up anyway.  They are little stinkers like that.)  A breakfast of chocolate chip waffles covered in fresh strawberries and some whipped cream while lounging in some comfy pjs.  I'd enjoy my tasty breakfast while watching a t.v. show; maybe a few episodes of Star Trek Voyager.  

What am I saying?  A few episodes?  I'd probably binge watch the whole show.  Sprawled on the couch or the bean bag, watching one of my favorite Star Trek shows.  I'd only pause briefly to get something for lunch.  If it were possible, I'd get Chinese food from my favorite place: Best Wok in Champaign.  They have some of the best lo mein noodles that I've ever had.  And they'll even add extra pea pods if you ask nicely. Yum!

After rotting my mind for a while, I think a nice relaxing swim is in order.  I love swimming, it takes the stress off your joints and it helps relax you.  Floating in the water on your back, staring up at the sky makes you feel so peaceful.  I love to do it as the sun sets, watching the sky change colors and the stars come out.  Once I'm sufficiently pruned up, I would dry off and change back into cozy pjs.  Grabbing a book, I'd crawl into bed and read while curled up with my kitties.  How's that for a lazy day?

The Entanglement of Yarn

Yarn.  It comes in a variety of colors, textures, and thicknesses.  Just a simple ball of string.  And yet, using this simple ball of string, you can create amazing things: blankets, sweaters, baby booties and those are just some of the more common place items.  This simple item is often over looked by many but I look at it with joy.

My mother is the one who taught me how to crochet* when I was 18 years old.  I decided that I finally wanted to learn.  She had tried to teach me when I was younger, but it didn't turn out all that well.  She gave me a hook, a ball of yarn and showed me how to chain, the base of any crochet project.  I took to it like a fish to water.  She then showed me how to make a granny square, then how to read crochet patterns.  I loved it.  My first completed project was a granny square blanket.  Each square of this blanket was a full 8oz of yarn (which is a a full skein(ball) of yarn).  I used four different colors and it was rather long, more like a wrap around yourself type blanket, rather than the put on your bed variety.  I gave it to my brother and he loved to wrap himself up in it to keep warm.

                                                The deep recesses of my crochet bag


Sadly, there are a few downsides to this beautiful, yarn weaving hobby.  One is that you will run into people who don't understand the cost of yarn and the time it takes to complete projects.  They will offer a few dollars to "pay you" for an item that might have taken you a few months to complete.  Don't allow people to belittle the time and energy it takes to make something.
Two is that you become infatuated by yarn.  You want it and can't get enough.  You gladly accept gifts of random skeins from friends, thinking to yourself "I can make something out of this."  The yarn stash goes from one box, then two.  After several boxes and four partially completed projects later, your friends may have to stage a yarn intervention.
The last downside is that once you start down the path of crochet, you become hooked!  (Ha! Just a little crochet humor for ya)




*Crocheting is done with 1 hook.  It is not the same as knitting, which uses 2 needles.  Saying crocheting is the same as knitting may result in yarn-related injury.  Just warning you now

Bath Time!

 Water is a wonderful thing.  It is part of our bodies and without it, life would stop.  I have memories of childhood having so much fun in this element: swimming in a pool, splashing in rain puddles and walking around in a shallow creek.  But, to this day, nothing can take away the joy that I get from a simple bath.

I love a bath with bathsalts or bubbles, but it doesn't have to have either of those for me to enjoy it.  Heck, even my cats enjoy a bath, although it is mainly due to the fact that they can drink from the water in the tub (whether I'm in it or not).  Hot water and a good book is all I truly need.  Even in a small bathtub, the water cradles you.  It helps ease away aches from your body.  What's not to love?

Next time you take a bath, try this meditation:
Lay down so that your head is in the water (don't worry about your hair, that's what a hair dryer is for).  Let the water cover your ears.  This is important since it helps to drown out a lot of the sounds around you.  Breathe in, breathe out.  Relax your muscles.  Listen to your breathing.  It blocks out a lot of the sounds, with the aid of the water.  Once you are relaxed, soften your breathing and listen to your heartbeat.  You can feel it in your chest and seems to reverberate in the water, the sound waves bouncing off the walls of the tub.  It is an amazing feeling.  Thoughts seem to slow down and you are at peace, even if it is just for a short period of time.  This is as close that you can get to the feeling of the womb (without investing in your own sensory deprivation tank).

Enjoy your bath time my lovelies :-)

The Beginning

 So, I have entered the blogging world.  Why you may ask?  I could give you half a dozen answers to satisfy your curiosity but I won't because I'm not sure if I could come up with believable excuses.  The only one I can actually leave you with is that my writing has become slow, stagnant, which is never a good thing for a writer.

What does a writer do when her writing has slowed to a crawl that even a slug could beat?  She forces herself to write more, even if it is not the manuscript that she should be working on.  But how you ask?  Well, it isn't the easiest thing to do. Writing takes time and ideas, but it also takes practice.  It means working at it every day.  And that is exactly what I plan to do.

In the days to come, new blogs will appear here.  Some of the ones that will be posted will be from a gift that my best friend gave me: a book of 300 writing prompts, all of which will become blog posts at some point, and other posts will be from the deep recesses of my somewhat strange and warped little mind.

I wish to express my thanks to you for joining me on this journey and apologize now for some of the random twists and turns that will definitely happen.

Smooches!

                                          Gabby approves of her mom`s blog adventure.