Or I could title this A Little Pumpkin Bread Goes A Long Way...
I admit, the past few weeks, okay months, I've been a little grouchy. And I haven't felt myself
at all. Today is a good day.
I can't say what tomorrow will bring. I'm pretty sure my agent is not going to call telling me
that she's sold my book, cause really I don't have anything out there to sell as I think we've heard back from everyone now...so hey, that's not going to happen. Strangely enough, I'm okay with that.
Do you ever get to a point where you realize that certain things are just out of your hands?
I have. It's rather liberating.
Publication is completely out of my hands. Sure I will continue to write and hope it happens, but even though I know I'm doing all the right things on my end, learning, reading, writing, the end result, whether or not an editor will like what I've written enough to publish it, is out of my hands.
So what's the point in stressing over it?
Same goes for the house. I know we've done our part. Appliances are ordered, fixtures and lighting all picked out and plans gone over a bazillion times. If the contractor can't get his act together and bang the thing out in time, hey, what can I do about it?
Sure I can moan and cuss him out and pull my hair out by the roots, which by the way, really hurts, but what good would it do?
Today I have discovered that I can only do what I can do.
I can make pumpkin bread.
There's just something about that smell permeating every inch of the house.
I'm really going to miss being with my sister and her family this Thanksgiving, but I shall be thankful for them as I celebrate with my own family and dear friends here.
And I might make more pumpkin bread.
I may even start that new book I keep thinking about.
So there.
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Keeping Up
Okay, I'm struggling. I really envy these people who manage to maintain a website, blog, Shoutlife, Facebook, MySpace, Twitter and who only knows what else, and still manage to get any writing done.
I can't do it.
Some things have got to go. Facebook isn't going to be one of them. ha.
I don't have a MySpace and I never go on Shoutlife anymore. I'm wondering what the benefit of keeping that is.
Blogging has always been up in the air for me. I read all this stuff about how I'm supposed to be
'establishing an internet presence' and gathering my ready-made fan club so that when the day comes when hell freezes offer and I do actually get published, people will be interested in reading my book. Hmmm.
Does this really work? I mean, what do I really have to offer anyone here on this blog?
Just my ramblings on life in general, very exciting I'm sure.
I don't know whether to pitch the blog and be done with it. It would certainly be one less stress for me to worry about. Like I lose sleep over the fact I haven't blogged in ten days, but you know...
I guess right now I'm feeling a little overwhelmed with life in general and I'm looking for ways to make things a little easier.
If I have something earth-shattering to report, I will. But for now, until I can get this whole thing figured out, I think I'll just have to blog when I can.
And here I thought I could do it all...
I can't do it.
Some things have got to go. Facebook isn't going to be one of them. ha.
I don't have a MySpace and I never go on Shoutlife anymore. I'm wondering what the benefit of keeping that is.
Blogging has always been up in the air for me. I read all this stuff about how I'm supposed to be
'establishing an internet presence' and gathering my ready-made fan club so that when the day comes when hell freezes offer and I do actually get published, people will be interested in reading my book. Hmmm.
Does this really work? I mean, what do I really have to offer anyone here on this blog?
Just my ramblings on life in general, very exciting I'm sure.
I don't know whether to pitch the blog and be done with it. It would certainly be one less stress for me to worry about. Like I lose sleep over the fact I haven't blogged in ten days, but you know...
I guess right now I'm feeling a little overwhelmed with life in general and I'm looking for ways to make things a little easier.
If I have something earth-shattering to report, I will. But for now, until I can get this whole thing figured out, I think I'll just have to blog when I can.
And here I thought I could do it all...
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Letting Go...
Hmm. Moving On, Letting Go, am I the only one sensing a theme here?
So you may recall that we're building a house. Well, we're scheduled to move in early March or April, depending on whether
the construction stays on track as it has been. I'm thinking I should have started planning this move last year.
I've always argued with my hubby when he tells me I have too many pairs of shoes. In the next breath he says clean up that closet, we can't even see the floor, how's that going to look when we put the house on the market?
Well, it's going to look like I'm the complete slob that I am, but okay, I see the point. So I resolved to make some effort toward
keeping things tidy. I bought a shoe bag. You know, one of those hanging things that you put shoes in?
Yeah. It holds twelve pairs of shoes. I doubled up sandals and a couple of evening shoes and...yeah.
Drat.
I have too many pairs of shoes.
Granted, I have shoes I have not worn in ten years. They look okay. I might wear them again someday.
Know what I mean?
I....can't....throw.....aaaaack.....things away.
Am I a hoarder? Do I need therapy? Can I go on TLC and have the entire world look at me hanging on to all my clutter like the universe will plummet into the black hole if I let go?
This is very sad. I'm not sure what to do. I can't even begin to tackle my clothes. Throwing out the shoes was bad enough.
Yes, I did throw some out. The ones with holes in 'em.
I definitely have issues. I wonder if the fact that I bawl like a baby every time I have to say goodbye to my daughter when she goes back to college is related to the fact that I cannot throw things out? Am I incapable of letting go of anything?
Is there a cure?
I need to fix this fast because I'm afraid I will come home one day to find my husband has thrown away everything I own.
I admit, I'm not as bad as some people. I don't keep margarine containers dating back to 1940. But I do keep a lot of other stuff we're not going to talk about right now. What's that saying? One person's trash is another person's treasure or something like that. Right.
Phone lines are open...
So you may recall that we're building a house. Well, we're scheduled to move in early March or April, depending on whether
the construction stays on track as it has been. I'm thinking I should have started planning this move last year.
I've always argued with my hubby when he tells me I have too many pairs of shoes. In the next breath he says clean up that closet, we can't even see the floor, how's that going to look when we put the house on the market?
Well, it's going to look like I'm the complete slob that I am, but okay, I see the point. So I resolved to make some effort toward
keeping things tidy. I bought a shoe bag. You know, one of those hanging things that you put shoes in?
Yeah. It holds twelve pairs of shoes. I doubled up sandals and a couple of evening shoes and...yeah.
Drat.
I have too many pairs of shoes.
Granted, I have shoes I have not worn in ten years. They look okay. I might wear them again someday.
Know what I mean?
I....can't....throw.....aaaaack.....things away.
Am I a hoarder? Do I need therapy? Can I go on TLC and have the entire world look at me hanging on to all my clutter like the universe will plummet into the black hole if I let go?
This is very sad. I'm not sure what to do. I can't even begin to tackle my clothes. Throwing out the shoes was bad enough.
Yes, I did throw some out. The ones with holes in 'em.
I definitely have issues. I wonder if the fact that I bawl like a baby every time I have to say goodbye to my daughter when she goes back to college is related to the fact that I cannot throw things out? Am I incapable of letting go of anything?
Is there a cure?
I need to fix this fast because I'm afraid I will come home one day to find my husband has thrown away everything I own.
I admit, I'm not as bad as some people. I don't keep margarine containers dating back to 1940. But I do keep a lot of other stuff we're not going to talk about right now. What's that saying? One person's trash is another person's treasure or something like that. Right.
Phone lines are open...
Monday, November 03, 2008
Moving On...
The light at the end of the tunnel glimmers and promises of better things to come.
It's so easy to get caught in that slump of despair and depression, and I admit, I succumb very quickly.
As the years creep stealthily past, it grows easier. Anything can set me off, and a bit of bad news
is all it takes to jump into that murky pit and slodge around in the mire, wringing my hands and crying, "Woe is me!"
Don't you hate that?
I do.
But sometimes it's really hard to find the way out.
Sometimes you need a bunch of friends to tell you you're better than that, you will move on and you will succeed.
Sometimes you need your daughter to send you an email filled with spiritually profound words that make you realize
how far you've veered off the course you spent her whole life teaching her how to navigate.
She got it.
Praise God, she got it!
Do I care that I got another rejection, another slip on the ladder that leads to publication? Of course I do.
BUT it's not going to make me or break me.
It's not going to make me tear my eyes off Jesus.
After all, if I'm doing this for Him, who am I to say when I should get published. And yes, even if it never happens then I will
still be able to say I wrote for Him and He was well pleased.
Oh, don't get me wrong, I will be sad and I will question, but in the darker moments of my despair I am always reminded of Job.
If everything I have is stripped away will I stand and say "Blessed be the Name of the Lord?"
Oh, God have mercy, I surely hope so!
But you know what? The greatest gift of all, something that surpasses all the riches in the world and the most lucrative publishing contract an author could wish for, I already have.
My kids know Jesus.
And that, my friends, is worth more than I can say.
I'm putting my eyes back on the True Treasure, because that's where they need to be.
It's so easy to get caught in that slump of despair and depression, and I admit, I succumb very quickly.
As the years creep stealthily past, it grows easier. Anything can set me off, and a bit of bad news
is all it takes to jump into that murky pit and slodge around in the mire, wringing my hands and crying, "Woe is me!"
Don't you hate that?
I do.
But sometimes it's really hard to find the way out.
Sometimes you need a bunch of friends to tell you you're better than that, you will move on and you will succeed.
Sometimes you need your daughter to send you an email filled with spiritually profound words that make you realize
how far you've veered off the course you spent her whole life teaching her how to navigate.
She got it.
Praise God, she got it!
Do I care that I got another rejection, another slip on the ladder that leads to publication? Of course I do.
BUT it's not going to make me or break me.
It's not going to make me tear my eyes off Jesus.
After all, if I'm doing this for Him, who am I to say when I should get published. And yes, even if it never happens then I will
still be able to say I wrote for Him and He was well pleased.
Oh, don't get me wrong, I will be sad and I will question, but in the darker moments of my despair I am always reminded of Job.
If everything I have is stripped away will I stand and say "Blessed be the Name of the Lord?"
Oh, God have mercy, I surely hope so!
But you know what? The greatest gift of all, something that surpasses all the riches in the world and the most lucrative publishing contract an author could wish for, I already have.
My kids know Jesus.
And that, my friends, is worth more than I can say.
I'm putting my eyes back on the True Treasure, because that's where they need to be.
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