First Piece on Bubblews

Connor the Cat doesn't think he's breaking the rules.  If he could, he would remind me that my exact words were:  You're not allowed on the table!...and he would point out, "I'm NOT on the table;I'm in the box!"

Hope you got a bigger laugh from that than my other half.  Sometimes I get the feeling that he doesn't love our 5 cats as much as I do, but then I put up with his drooling old dog, so I guess we're even.

I was at a workshop for work yesterday, but I've been busy writing whenever I can.  Writing for Bubblews is interesting to say the least.

Here's the first piece I wrote for that site:

http://www.bubblews.com/news/4368828-it-is-all-about-the-p

I hope you enjoy it cause it was one of those pieces that was fun to write!

No Rest for the Working!

 

Life as a cat would be grand, wouldn't it?  Kitty seems to think so.  Just laying around sleeping all day after the gruelling job of finding just the right spot to monopolize, and me?  Well, trying to maintain two writing sites and my blog and still finding time to manage five cats and a dog and a family is like running a marathon on my knees.

These people actually expect me to fix 3 meals a day and clean the house!  Can you believe that?  They're lucky that the frozen food department and I at my local HEB are good friends. It's summer time. and it's my time to relax and write!  Right?

Well, WIKINUT is going well, so far.  Here's the newest article I wrote about one cure for the summer slide that some students experience:

http://www.wikinut.com/the-best-writing-activity-for-the-summer/2y7fjvnx/2yqur5h6/

Hope you enjoy it!

A Brighter Path

Today the melancholy is gone and replaced with renewed hope for a brighter future.  I've never been one to dwell on disappointments, that only leads to me trying to find relief in the refrigerator, and my waistline cannot handle anymore of that.  So the right thing to do is find a way down a new path.

My new path has found me on WIKINUT.  So far the journey has rewarded me with connecting with old YCN friends and renewed awareness of my writing.  I've published my first piece with WIKINUT.

This poem is the story of Sassy Cat who was an abandoned cat and who somehow has wormed her way into our home and into our hearts.

http://nut.bz/1s3us4h3/

Please read and let me know what you think.  I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

Crossroads

Woke up this morning thinking about the path of my life and feeling pretty melancholy.  I've suffered many of life's little deaths lately, figuratively and literally.  With it comes a lot of reflection about the new path in store for me.

Unlike the path that leads Connor (my diabetic cat) around to the back of the house where he knows what awaits him, my path has taken many twists and turns.  It has ended and begun again so many times that it makes me sad sometimes to think about the journey. 

With the death of the Yahoo Contributor Network, I've decided to really work on my blog and develop it a bit more.  So last night I spent a few hours redesigning it after seeing what some other bloggers had done.  I think I'm happy with it for now, but I will have to rework some of my links to articles as soon as YCN is completely off-line, and I will be making some tweaks in the days to come.

I also signed up with another writing platform.  YCN was my first real experience with publishing my writing, and I realized when it was announced that it was ending that I didn't want my writing journey to end.  I had to think about what writing really meant to me.  Was it for the money?  Was it for fame?

No, it was, I realized, all about me for once.  It was something I enjoyed doing just for the sake of doing.  Making connections with other writers and receiving feedback was just a great, big bonus!  In days to come I will let you know how the new platform is working for me.  I'm excited because I've found old friends and that makes me happy!

Summer is Over!

Bummer!  The summer is over!  It's time to go back to school.....at least that's what the homebody part of me is saying.  The other part of me, the teacher me, is excited to begin a new year full of possibilities.  I've been back two days now and have learned about the changes this new year will bring.  It will be interesting to say the least. 

One of the most challenging one will be adding Edmodo (like Facebook for school communities) to my arsenal of tools.  I'm a bit apprehensive about how it will work in the classroom, but can definitely see the benefits, so here I go.

WHAT HAPPENED TO CHARLIE BROWN'S TREE?

Sooooo what happened to the Charlie Brown tree you ask?  All scraggly and anorexic looking?  Well, it has grown up very nicely.  We built a ring around the tree shaped like a bean.  I put potted plants within the ring, and then we ran a drip system to the tree to water it and the plants.  All it needed was a little love and care.

Don't we all just need a little love and care in order to thrive and grow?  I could have given up on the tree.  Actually, I was given the choice.  "We can ripe out the tree and plant a new one," he said.  I couldn't do it.  It had a right to survive.  It had a right to try.  I'm so glad I said no.  Almost immediately it started to do better as if to prove me right.

Giving up is just not in my nature.  It's not the way I was raised.  Sure there have been challenges.  Sure there were times when I just wanted to give up.  My first marriage should have ended sooner than it did, but I was brought up with the ethic that you don't just give up when the going gets rough.  You work at it and give it your all.  You stick with your committment.  Today I think people are too easily giving up when things don't work out the way they think they should.  Sure in the end, the marriage didn't work out, but at least I can say that I tried and gave it my all.  There is no shame in that.

I guess I'm just stubborn that way.  Giving up is actually too easy.  It's being a coward in my eyes.  I was a single parent for most of my life.  So it wasn't always just about me either.  If I had given up, how would that have affected them?  What would I have taught them?     Advice of the day:  sometimes things get hard in life, but don't give up.  You never know when life will turn out just right!

TOMATOES GONE WILD!

 

When we first moved here in the summer of 2011, there was nothing but weeds, especially sticker weeds, on our lot.  Well, except for one little Charlie Brown tree as I liked to refer to it - our barely living Live Oak tree that stood in the front yard.  Two years and a lot of hard work later, we have a beautiful yard with several raised beds for vegetables and a separate pepper garden for my Apache, Serrano, Poblano, Banana, and Jalapeno peppers.  We've planted tomatoes, corn, zucchini, butternut squash, okra, carrots, tomatillos, green beans, cantaloupe, garlic, and onions.

While we had some success with all, some have flourished beyond imagination.  The weather and watering schedule have a lot to do with it.  Last year during the drought we watered more, and the zucchini loved it.  It seemed like I had zucchini growing out my ears.  I couldn't give it away fast enough before it was time to harvest more.  I do have to say that my neighbors love me though.  

This year it is tomatoes.  We planted Beefsteak and Roma tomatoes plus Cherry (pictured) and Grape tomatoes which are a little bigger and more oval than the cherry and sweeter.  They just won't stop producing.  I have started freezing them for the winter.  Yes, you can freeze whole tomatoes.  You won't be able to use them sliced on your hamburger, but you can use them in all cooking dishes.  I spread them out in the freezer on a shelf so that they are not touching.  Once they are frozen, I put them in a zip lock bag.  This way when I need some, I just take out as many as I need.  

Today I have really been a busy little bee.  I worked in the garden some this morning and discovered a whole new crop of peppers and tomatoes that needed to be dealt with.  So my little basket and I collected about two dozen tomatoes and a pound of peppers.  It was time for making my home-made green hot salsa.  Don't ask me for the recipe because there isn't one.  

I cook the old-fashioned way, by sight, smell, and intuition.  I've been doing it for so long that most things come out pretty edible.  I'm always reminding my husband that none of my family or original recipes ever come out the same, and he always answers, "But it's always good!"  

The main ingredients though are tomatoes and which ever peppers I have on hand at the moment, but mostly the Apache, Serrano, and Jalapeño.  These are put into a pot and boiled quickly and left to stew for a bit.  Then into my blender with fresh garlic and salt.  It's a family thing, and we eat it on almost everything.  It will range from spicy to hot depending on the ratio of peppers I used, but then you just add a bit more on your food.  Gotta be careful though, at my house you want to taste sauce before adding too much.  As my son said recently after dinner one day after a new batch of sauce was made, "Note to self:  one spoon of sauce on each taco is too much!"  I'm still laughing about that one.

Gardening for me is fun.  It is therapeutic.  It is me time.  I put on my ear buds and the song of the day and do the happy dance through the vegetables. 

    

Advice of the day:  Find whatever it is that makes you want to do a happy dance and make sure that you do it whenever you can!

My Lazy Spell..

 

Anyone that knows me can tell you that I am not one to let the grass grow under my feet.  In fact, I'm one of those annoying people that eats standing up most of the time.  On my feet and ready to move at a moment's notice.  I'm the ideal multi-tasker and usually have several things going at one time.  Always busy and moving and doing and all within the deadline.

Then three weeks into my summer, I just stopped.  I spent three long days doing nothing really.  Just did not have the energy to do what I normally do as fast as I normally do it.  I found myself doing a task and being so tired that I had to rest which usually included a nap.  One day I napped for two hours.  At one point I thought to myself, I'm acting just like my cats.  Just plain lazy. 

Sure, looking back there were signs, but I missed them - made excuses for them.  Besides, I am woman, hear me roar, and so I'm supposed to keep going and keep everyone around me going.  So I made excuses for the way I was feeling, but the truth of the matter was that I was suffering from Iron-Deficiency Anemia. 

These days I am busy writing every minute I can and trying to take it easy.  And very glad my lazy spell is over.... 

The Reluctant Cat Lady

 

When my son called the other day from Colorado, his greeting was in the form of "Hey Cat Lady."  I remember denying this, but then I got to thinking.  Just how many cats do you have to own in order to be referred to as a "Cat Lady."

I only have six.  Is that too many?  I've heard the horror stories of fifty or more unhealthy and uncared for cats being found in a home, but I only have six spoiled rotten felines.  Besides, I am too young to be a "Cat Lady."  When I said this to my son, his response was, "Well, you thought you were too young to be a grandmother too."

That's true.  Then I guess age doesn't matter, but in my defense, I will say that three of my cats were kind of rescue situations.  So I should be applauded as a hero!

There are times, I will reluctantly admit, when life gets hectic with six kitties, but they make life so interesting.  My second article which just happens to be about cats has been published.  I have attached the link. 

http://www.wikinut.com/the-best-reason-for-having-a-cat/aybb5hjb/3rq_uo44/


Go read it and have a laugh.  Tell me what you think.

Yippee! My First Published Article!

A teacher's summer:  attend workshop, reflect on old stuff from last year, plan for the year using scope and sequence using new curriculum, shop for bargain deals to replenish supplies, attend another workshop, shop for new supplies needed for new curriculum, start planning lesson plans for new year overview for new curriculum, etc.....

Yes, this is my summer so far.  Then throw in two step kids and discovering you have iron-deficiency anemia....yes, it's been a busy summer!  Also add in the fact that a requirement of my first workshop was for me to solicit a piece of my writing for publication, and so now I barely have time to breathe.  The piece originally submitted was actually rejected because it was too expository a piece for the web.

However, the bug had bit.  I decided to write a second piece, and it was accepted, and hence the title to this blog entry. 

Now, I'm hooked.  Check out the piece! I'm pretty pleased with it, but I could be a bit biased.

http://family.wikinut.com/The-Best-Writing-Activity-for-the-Summer/2y7fjvnx/ 

Let me know what you think.  Thanks! 

Compromise is not a four letter word!

Love.  It is a choice.  It is a way of life.  It is a hard road to travel sometimes.  On the best days, it is easy and fun and wonderful.  On the worst, well, you have to work at it.  We are all different.  Opposites attract.  The key is compromise.  It can't always be my way, and it can't always be his.  Sometimes, we have to make "our" way.  He gives; I give.  Sometimes, I give more and sometimes, he has to give more.  In my younger days, well, I used to say, "It's my way or the highway!"  I remember feeling that if I gave an inch, then I would continue to give in, and I'd wind up losing all together.  As I've grown older, I've discovered that in a true compromise, there are no losers.  When we get along, we all win.  I've realized that a relationship is worth only what we each put into it.  It's only as hard as you make it.