Camp NaNoWriMo

Dude . . . I had no idea.

Camp NaNoWriMo


I've been playing around with a new idea in my head and making notes and doing my daily page (yeah, not three pages, just one, but it's a start), so this is actually perfect timing.  It looks like it's just getting started, and all the fun tools and buttons aren't even in place yet.  No distracting forums, so yay on that one!

Wanna join in the summer-o-writing-fun?  Just sign in with your old NaNoWriMo login or create a new account.  It doesn't look like there will be any word count widgets or anything until August, so whats the point, right?  Who knows, but it's just the kick in the butt I need to maybe get a draft done this summer!

Well, at least you know where I'll be this summer.  :)

Avoiding the Middle Ground

Lately, I've been living in the up or the down.  Sort of by choice, sort of just the way I float.  Nothing too extreme, after all, I'm still working on balance.  Recently I've come to realize that my struggle with balance comes a lack of desire to live in that elusive middle ground.  I like the ups and downs of life.  Well, not so much the downs, but without them what good are those ups?  Middle is boring.  Tedious.  Blah.  So what I've really been doing is trying to force myself to live somewhere I don't want to be.

Don't get me wrong, I know it isn't healthy to live in extremes.  I get that.  But too long in the middle and I get antsy.  I want to shake things up.  That usually makes things better or worse, but either way things are different.  And different, in my opinion, is good.

So here's the question.  How is one to achieve peace or balance when one is constantly in a state of change?  Even if I have some steady routines and rhythms to anchor myself (and I'm proud to say that I now have some pretty solid rhythms that I'm confortable with), everything around me is constantly changing.  That's life.  And if that's the case, does the universe really want me to be balanced?  Ok, I realize that sounds ridiculous, but it really is bugging me.  If life is about change and adaptation, how then is one to be balanced?  Or, for that matter, what is balance?  Maybe the definition is off, and maybe we're all reaching for something unattainable and that's why so many of us struggle with this.  Maybe we need a new definition of balance or something new to strive for.

So tell me, what does balance mean to you?

40 Days of Nice

I've been spending a lot of time lately trying to refocus my energy.  Ok, who am I kidding?  I'm trying to find any focus I can, forget REfocusing.  I don't observe many religious traditions, and I certainly don't discuss what I do choose to observe or not observe.  This year, however, I'm in the lenten mood.  So, I'm doing 40 Days of Nice with my family.  But it goes beyond being nice to one another.  I'm also focusing the next few weeks on being nice to myself.

• Writing my morning pages. 
• Eating fresh, healthy foods.  
• Exercising.
• Spending lots of time outdoors.
• Reading.
• Taking time occasionally to just . . . be.

Manic Pre-March Madness

Blame it on the absolutely gorgeous weather.

Blame it on kicking the sinus/allergy/cold/whatever-crawled-up-in-my-head-and-died crap to the curb.  Finally.

Blame it on the excitement of planning our very first spring garden.

Blame it on the fact that homeschooling is going so gosh darn well.

Blame it on hormones and instability.

Whatever the reason, I'm back.  Back to writing.  Back to creating.  Back to loving life.   The only problem is that I can't get enough of it.  I felt it distinctly kick in earlier this week.  After a couple days of feeling decidedly better (thank you zyrtec, I swear I will be faithful now, I promise) coincided with a drastic change in weather, I remember not being able to sleep Sunday night.  I stared up at the ceiling for hours, then woke around 4 a.m. and seriously considered creeping into the office to write.  Great! Only, I knew better.  If I did that, it would be only moments before my three foot shadow noticed my absence and pattered down the hall to find me.  And THEN I'd be ticked.  No, better to stare around and make plans.  Lots of plans.  Big freaking plans.

Aw hell, I can't remember what those plans were, but I'm still energized by it all.  The windows in the house and car are wide open and I'm loving the energy around here.  I started a new bag.  Pink and brown.  With guitars.  I had to do the dreaded "Mark all as read," but I'll be making the blog rounds again.  Swear.  We took this week off of school to visit the zoo, play outside with friends, and start that garden.  I'm gearing up to finish that draft I left hanging back in December, and I'm seriously considering moving my yearly first draft madness to the summer, since we won't be schooling and I can maybe breathe a little and finish for once.

I may be slightly manic.  But that's ok.  I really feel that animal frenzy from hibernating all winter and wanting to explode out into nature and produce something really special.  Minus all that egg-laying.

What are your plans for spring?  My list isn't long enough, so I need more project ideas.  :)

(Oh, and if you're in a reader and haven't stopped by in a while, take a gander at the new background.  It's nice and springy and I think I'll let it live here.)

Six Items or Less

Have any of you seen the Six Items or Less challenge?  Better yet, have any of you been crazy brave enough to take on the challenge?  Basically, you pick six items from your wardrobe and wear only those six items for a month.  Just to be clear, underwear and socks don't count, so please change those daily, ok? Thanks.  Also, don't worry about taking up precious spots with jackets, shoes, or accessories.  Those are freebies, too.  So you might choose a dress, a pair of jeans, sweat pants, two t-shirts, and a sweatshirt.  Or something like that.  I can't imagine pulling this off back when I was working outside the house, but really, I think this is doable for me.  Maybe.

Here's the thing.  It's got me thinking.  Really, I was already thinking about purging and scaling back in the closet, especially since I either don't fit in or don't wear much of the stuff in there anymore.  I met someone once who told me she found a shirt pattern she liked, so at the beginning of the summer she made three shirts from that one pattern and that's all she wore.  Super simple.  I loved the sound of that.  And I'm such a t-shirt and comfy pants kind of girl anyway.  I could really scale back.  Now, between the kids and all the baking/cooking I can't get away with wearing items multiple days between washing.  That's just not going to happen anymore.  But I'm thinking I can really simplify around here.  Maybe a couple of outfits for at-home days, couple for errand/visiting days, and a couple of dressy outfits.  You know, just in case I leave the house without a child attached to me.  I have tons of old t-shirts crowding the closet.  Really, I could probably go a month and not wear the same shirt twice.  And I don't shop.  Really, I don't.  I've just acquired them all over the years, and most of them I don't even like because they don't fit well anymore.  Or they never did in the first place.  So why do I still have them?  Who knows.

So, maybe I can change this challenge so it's more of a lifestyle change.  You know, less of a diet and more of a healthy dressing plan.  So instead of six items or less, I should change it to six outfits or less.

That's it.  I'm convinced.
I'm going through my closet this weekend.
Who's with me?

Theme for 2011: CHOOSE

For the past few years, I've kind of picked a theme to live by.  See, I'm not big on resolutions.  I love goals, but my goal lists can get out of hand.  Plus, they change throughout the year.  I need something simple, a word or phrase I can remember and apply to my life on a regular basis.  One year I chose "Letting Go."  I got pretty good at that one, but I still have to remind myself occasionally to just let things go. Last year was all about "Balance." About halfway through the year, I realized I was failing at that.  Big time.  Now, I'm pretty sure I'm failing at the balance thing.  Maybe better than a year ago.  I dont know.  I can't really remember a year ago.   Let's revisit those 2010 goals for a sec:

1. Submit novel. - no
2. Resume Freelancing. - no
3. Toddler Homeschooling - Yup.  And (surprise, surprise) 2nd grade homeschooling, too.
4. Schedule More Grown-Up Time - Eh.  Some.  Probably better than the year before, but not much.

So, not great.  But you know what?  I'm ok with that.  I'm letting it go.  I learned so much more this year.  Maybe I still need to work on balance in my life, but I'll get there.  I'm not giving up on it. I'm just not beating myself over the head with it.  I'm reading, and simplifying, and remembering what's important to me, and I'll find my balance one day.  Or at least what balance looks like to me.

For this year, my theme is "Choose."  I used to live by the motto, "Life is about choices."  Really, it is. You're never as stuck as you feel.  Usually that stuck feeling (for me, at least) comes from wanting two opposing things and not wanting to choose between them.  Not even for a week or a month or a year.  Well, I'm going to do it this year.  I'm going to choose, on a daily basis.  Here are some of the choices I hope to make this year:

1. Choose happiness.
2. Choose peace and simplicity.
3. Choose to laugh at myself and my mistakes.
4. Choose a passion.  (Because being passionate about everything is exhausting.  Focus on one thing at a time.  Make a choice: What do you want to do today?  Also, see #5.)
5. Choose to be present.  Always.  

I could go on, but you see where this is going, right?  I've got my word and I'm sticking to it.  And, with a little luck and focus, maybe in the midst of all these choices I'll find my balance, too.

Happy New Year!!!

Merry Christmas

Wishing you all peace and happiness.  And a healthy supply of valerian.  It's the only way I'm keeping my sanity and my TMJ under control (well, sort of) this week.

Also, I now highly recommend putting a few drops of tea tree and lavender oils in the bowl of steaming water you breathe over when you have a sinus infection.  Best stuff ever.  Seriously, you know the old what would you bring on a deserted island question? Well, I'm bringing tea tree and lavender oil.  You can thank me later.

Blessings and valerian to all, and to all a good night!