Blogging Finale ~ 31 Day Blogging Challenge

image from finalemusic.com

To be honest, I almost forgot about my last blog entry for the month.  This is the most writing I've done in a long time.  I wasn't even this consistent this past November during NaNoWriMo.  It felt good being about to stick to a goal no matter what.

No matter what type of mood I was in, even when I didn't have much to say, I still made myself write. In a way, this felt like a glimpse into the professional writing life that I want.  Dedication is the key.

I may take a week from writing to gather my thoughts then I'm going to dive into editing and rewriting.  As I mentioned in previous posts, I still plan to blog once a week.  If all I have to talk about is my word count, that's what I'll do.  Consistency is another key.

Thank you to those that have read my blog posts.  Even if you only read one or two, I appreciate that.  Maybe I'll do another one of these challenges some time this year.  Gotta get one of the 7 works in progress complete though.  Yeah, I've been at this for a long time.  But I'm tired of this just being a hobby, I'm ready to put in the work.  Hard work is yet another key.

I'm going to take all these keys and open the door to something great.  I can feel it.

Just because ~ Gift giving

image from pinterest.com

Almost a decade ago, before I had my son, I used to craft all kinds of things for my coworkers.  Every month I made items with each person's name on it to hang outside of their cubicles.  I did that for a couple of years until people started getting on my nerves. 

Some of those projects got pretty pricey but I didn't mind because I wanted our area to be cute and I wanted to make my team happy.  Unfortunately, I started having people that complained when their item didn't look exactly like someone else's. I thought that was dumb because I thought everyone wanted one of a kind items.  

Similar but different.

image from petalstopicots.com

After a couple of crazy comments I asked if they wanted to contribute to the decorations if they wanted everything to look a certain way.  Maybe three people gave me a couple of dollars that next month.  After that I never got anything so I stopped doing it.

Now that I'm in another team, I've watched these folks for a year and a half and they seem to be more appreciative.  I may not do projects every month but I'm going to start with Valentine's Day and see how things go.  I wanted to start with birthdays but a lot of us take vacation days on our birthdays so things may get kind of crazy trying to reschedule the gift giving and whatnot.

Sometimes it sucks to go to work so I try to boost everyone's morale.  I get a boost just by seeing happy faces so it's a win/win.

What Are You Doing Super Bowl Sunday?

image from pixshark.com

With the Super Bowl coming up, one of my coworkers suggested that everyone in our group wear a jersey or t-shirt in support of our favorite NFL team.  Of course she didn't tell us this until today before we all got off work.  Many of us aren't really football fans, so we don't just have paraphernalia lying around.  I have a Steelers cap only because I was aggravating my Cowboy fan cousins at a party we had a few years ago.

Since I'm silly, I asked if I could wear my son's Seahawk comforter.  That's not going to happen but I was just thinking out loud.

I decided that I'm going to wear a black shirt and black jeans with my Steelers hat and black and yellow sneakers.  This will only be the second time I've worn the darn thing.  I told my son that I will buy us both Seahawk shirts and hats after the Super Bowl.

Remember when I latched on to the Memphis Grizzlies just because they are the home team?  Well the Tennessee Titans are the home football team but they suck, so I can't get jiggy with them.

Back in the day, I used to go to Super Bowl parties just for the heck of it.  Since I've had my son, no one has invited me to any.  Probably because they figured out that I could care less about the game and I was only there for the snacks.  I may make some food for us to snack on during the game this year.  Lord, please don't let the kid get mad when I hop on my Ipad to watch The Walking Dead.

What are your plans for the Super Bowl?

Tax Time: Do You Live for Your Refund?

Image from earhustle411.com

It took me up until last year to stop being one of those people that "live" for tax refund time.  Yes, I used to be one of those people that rushed to do my tax return so I could get my refund during the first run of deposits.  I used to always have to catch up on bills and buy or repair a car.  Some of the funds went to shopping but not much, cause I'm always balling on a budget.

I remembered something my dad had told me years ago, "I don't need the government to hold my money for me."  What he meant was that he liked getting his money throughout the year and breaking even or only owing a small amount when it was time to file his tax return.  It took me 20 years to do it but I went in and changed my W-4 so I would get more of my check each pay day.  There's a calculator on Irs.gov that I used to keep up with what I paid in federal tax and what I will have to pay by April 15, if I didn't make changes by December 31.

image from money.usnews.com

This year I will have a small balance to pay but next year I plan to break even, they won't owe me and I won't owe them.  Which is great to me.  I've gotten to the point where I can save money on my own and I hope to continue to do so.  My savings account actually has more than $50 in it for a change and it feels good.

I don't think I'll miss getting refunds because I was never one of those people that got those extra large refunds of $4,000 or more.  I wasn't hounding the mail man or the teller at my bank about when my money was coming. No going on Facebook crying about how much I need my money to keep my lights from getting cut off or my car from getting repossessed.

Freedom from yelling, "I want my money and I need it now," feels so good.

Questions I Often Ask Myself

Image from pearlharborwebsite.com

What if...

• We could put ourselves in the dryer for 10 minutes and come out three sizes smaller?

• We could vaccum the fat out of our bellies and inject it into our butts? 

•  We could donate part of our DDD+ breasts to people that are not happy with their B cups? 

•  Healthy fruits and vegetables were just as cheap as Value Meals?

These are just four of the many questions that occur to me on a regular basis.  I guess if the first three things were possible, we wouldn't need number four. Of course if I could afford to eat right everyday I wouldn't get all of these supersized body parts that I want to shrink or donate to the less fortunate.

I also wish I could wiggle my nose like Bewitched and instantly have the body that I want.  Now that would be awesome.  I would also transport myself places so I won't have to deal with traffic, but that's another story.

Sleepiness or Procrastination?

image from thenakedscientists.com

Why is it that when I'm sleepy, that's when I have all kinds of things I need to get done?  When I'm wide awake, I'm looking for things to do to keep from being bored to death.

I got home at 3 pm today but I didn't start thinking about what I wanted to write until 7:30 pm.  Which is dumb because I'm full of broccoli and rice casserole and I just had a mini marathon of the Walking Dead.  So now I'm practically catching a snooze after every couple of words.

My son is sitting across from me with headphones on, watching Fat Albert on his tablet.  Well, he's not really watching it, he's just playing the theme song over and over again.  I don't remember dropping this kid on his head when he was a baby but of course I could have been half sleep at the time.

At the beginning of the blogging challenge, I had every intention of planning a few posts ahead of time.  I was trying to avoid days like this but it didn't work out that way.  I'll blame it on the stupid Walkers, I think they're trying to kill my brain cells or something.

That Pork Chop Tried to Killed Me

image from cafepress.com

I don't think I'm going to be eating much pork from now on.  After coming off of the (mostly) fruit and vegetable fast for 21 days, I eased back into eating meat.  Turkey and chicken gave me no problems but when I ate that pork chop for dinner, my whole body went H.AM.  You guys should have seen me sitting at the dinner table looking all crazy and feeling even crazier.  I mean I was feeling like Fred Sandford telling Elizabeth he was coming to join her.

image from pinterest.com

My dad told me that my head was going to start spinning and sure enough it did.  I tried to play it off but as soon as it started, I put that piggy down.  My little sister had cooked dinner and I had to explain to her about the fast so she wouldn't think something was wrong with the food.  I told her I probably wouldn't be eating any meat for the rest of the week.

Not even ten minutes after dinner, I felt like I was going to have to visit the bathroom in one capacity or another.  That feeling passed after a while but the body ache got worse.  Dad keeps pain medication so I was looking through all of his dresser drawers for something to take the awful feeling away.  I finally found them in the den on the table by his chair.

The pills were for back and body pain. "My head and body hurts so this should work right?"  My little sister and son looked at me like, "Really?"

image from huffingtonpost.com

I took two of the pills and went and sat down, trying to keep my mind off of the war going on inside me.  Within an hour I was pretty good but as I write this post it feels like I won't be completely right until I get this piggy out of me.  Since it takes meat 12 hours to digest, I should be good by my morning bathroom business meeting.

I'm Officially a Basketball Fan

Over the years, I knew just enough about basketball to know a lot of the top players, what team they played for and what the team colors and mascots were.  Even with all that knowledge, I never really paid attention to the games.  Tonight I went to my very first professional basketball game and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

My son always talks about football so I didn't think he would like the game that much but he surprised me.  He was asking when we would be able to go back.  When I told him I didn't know, he said, "We can go next month." HA!! That boy swears he's the boss of me.

We went to the game with some old friends of mine including, Reese, whom I always said should have been my husband but he ended up being one of my best friends instead.  He and I had so much in common that it was like we were brother and sister or at least cousins.  I guess it's a good thing that we didn't get married because I don't think I would have been able to put up with a male version of myself.  

It felt good to see the home team win my first time going, that made the experience extra special.  Thanks to Reese's sister, Quita, for inviting me.  Lil dude and I had a great time.

Do You Do Well On Job Interviews?

Being an introvert, I've had to go through hours of prayer and preparation to get through the few interviews I've had in my working life.  I always felt that it was a miracle when I received job offers. The managers told me that I did great on my interview but there was always something in the back of my mind saying, "If they picked me, how bad were the other applicants?"

That's sad but it's real.

I'm still that shy little girl in my head.  The one that used to cross the street to keep from walking through a group of boys.  The one that always wore baggy clothes and kept my hair in a ponytail so I could blend into the background.  Don't get it twisted, when I got to know people I talked their ears off but it took months for me to get to that point.

image from sparkplugpeople.com

Over the years I've learned to be myself, as they say, during interviews. Well, I became some form of myself, an alter-ego. The confident, charismatic version of me.  As I watched the video below, I was thinking about how glad I was that I never went to these extremes during the interview process.  I think a whole lot of crazy things that I will never say out loud. Of course they may end up in one of my books one day, but that's another story.



How do you do on interviews? Share your tips.

I've Almost Completed My Challenge ~ Then What?

With the end of this 31 day blogging challenge fast approaching, I've been thinking about how I am going to proceed with at least one of my works in progress.  Blogging is pretty fun but writing fiction is my passion.  I still plan to do a blog post at least once a week, maybe more since I'll be updating my word count in the left margin almost daily.

I'm falling behind schedule a little when it comes to what I had planned to do starting the first of January.  I should be rewriting and editing the first book in my Sassy Johnson series right now.  Since I hadn't planned to publish until around June, I still have time to finish it, send it to an editor, find a cover artist and make all necessary corrections to the manuscript before submitting it to Amazon/Kindle.

image from johnanthonyjames.com

I'll probably set word count goals like I did for NaNoWriMo to hold myself accountable.  I won't beat myself up if I don't meet a word goal but I'll just try to do better the next day.  I'll probably set weekly goals instead of daily goals so as long as I meet the goal for the week, I can kind of take my time each day if I need to.

Boy oh boy, I can't wait to get all of these stories out of my head so I can share them with people.

Are You Addicted to the Internet?

image from thedilbertstore.com

Like most people, I have cable and the internet. Guess which one I use the most?  Yeah, I'm addicted to the internet.  If I was the only person in the house, I wouldn't even have cable cause I can watch pretty much any show that I'm interested in on Netflix.  Yeah, I only watch the old seasons but if I haven't seen them before, they are all new to me.  All I have to do is stay away from Twitter when they are talking about an episode that I haven't seen yet.

Anyway, next to YouTube, I think Netflix is the best thing since sliced bread.  So as long as I have an internet connection, I'm happy.

image from kikiandtea.com

I'm pretty sure I have more internet friends than real life friends.  Does that make me weird? If it does, I don't mind because I've always been weird so I'm cool with it.

Before there was internet, I read a lot of books and put a lot of puzzles together.  I'm not sure if I'll ever be able to go back to those simpler times.  I still read but I download my e-books or audio books to my Android or Ipad.  I mean, even if I don't have internet access at home, I have it on my phone, or at the library, McDonald's even has WiFi.

image from rockandrollmama.com

What did you do before the internet? Would you be able to live without it?

Those Eyebrows Though...

descent eyebrows

A few years ago, I got my eyebrows threaded for my birthday.  Well, it's sad to say that I have done absolutely nothing to these baby bushes since 2011 cause that crap hurts like heck man. I mean they look good when they are done but dang why does beauty have to hurt so bad?

raggedy eyebrows

My eyebrows aren't really think like a dude or anything but I guess they can use some shaping up every once in a while. I don't wear make up so I can't camouflage the scruffiness so I'm just going to have to suck it up and get them done again. I'm not the drawing on type soooo...

This video made me think about some of the crazy looking sets of eyebrows I've seen over the years.  Dude made me laugh and feel a little ashamed of myself at the same time.  Yall know I like colorful language so if you're easily offended, you may want to skip this.

I'm Not Giving Up on My Fitness Goals

image from ecorazzi.com

Almost every Google search picture or YouTube video about being a vegan that I've seen showed a small framed person that seemed to be in pretty good shape.  That's why I wanted to try it. The first week I ate nothing but raw fruits and vegetables, I lost 5 pounds. The next week I re-incorporated bread and cheese for one meal a day, I gained 2 pounds.  This is my third week, I'm going to try to go back to just fruits and vegetables for the next four days.

It's hard trying to be a vegan, even temporarily.  I mean I could blame it on my family or my co-workers, but all I have to say is no thank you and they'll leave me alone. I'm my own worst enemy. I've been eating the same way all my life and it's hard to change even though I know it will be for my own good.  Based on the tests my doctors ran, changing the way I eat has improved my health since the last time I was tested, two years ago.  Cholesterol normal, blood sugar normal, blood pressure on it's way to normal.

image from sofreshandsogreen.com

Friday is supposed to be the last day of this "fast" and then I'll add eggs and dairy back in twice a week. I don't know what I'll do about meat yet. Maybe I'll try veggie burgers or something or just eat fish.  I have the habit of cheating on diets. Which is dumb because no one cares if I lose weight but me, so why the heck am I cheating myself?

image from aestheteskincare.com

I've also been pretty lazy.  I mean I'm supposed to be working out at least 3 to 4 days a week but sometimes I go a whole week without doing anything but sitting on my wide behind.   That's got to change. 

One good thing that has come out of this "fast" is that I've only eaten candy once and I haven't had any sodas, alcohol, cakes, pies or ice cream. And I'm still alive. THANK YOU JESUS!!!!

I would say I need motivation but no one can really keep me motivated but me, at least for the long haul.  Giving up is not an option. I'll figure out what works for me soon enough.

Teenagers are Crazy

image from liberatedthinking.com

Teenagers are strange, some more so than others. My 14 year old sister is going through some type of phase where she'd rather sleep in the den than in her room.  Dad and I have been trying to figure out what's going on but it's still a mystery.  

Dad helped her paint her room her favorite color. She slept in there a month or so after then back to the den. Today he told her since she didn't want her room, he was going to rent it out.

"You better not rent my room out," she said taking her pillow and blanket to the den.

When I was little I always had to share my room with a sibling or other relative until I turned 16 years old. I was so happy when I got my own room. I had pictures and posters all over the walls.  I didn't have a TV in my room but I had a ton of books.  Plus I didn't have to share my closet and dressers drawers with anyone, it was awesome.  

Dad said that he and his brother had to sleep on the kitchen floor when they were little. Sometimes my dad tells tall tales but there may be some truth to that if they only had one bedroom and his sister slept in the living room. I guess the only other place for he and his brother to sleep was in the kitchen.

Little sister has a TV with cable and DVD player. She has a cellphone and a tablet.  A lot more than I had at her age so why is she not happy? Plus, at her grandmother's, she has to share a room with her younger sister and various cousins at any given time. If I had to go through that my room at dear old dad's house would be so much more appealing.

image from tightmixblog.com

There's no way in the world that I would choose to sleep on the couch when I have a perfectly good bed in my room with plum colored walls.

Whenever someone asks her why she does strange things, her answer is, "Cause, I can."

Wow, this is why my tolerance for foolishness is so low.

Should Women Make More Money Than Men?

image from savespendsplurge.com

I was watching this video, laughing to myself.  Women have fought for equal pay for decades but this video made me see a possible reason why things are the way they are.  Most of the guys I've dated have made less than I and to be honest that was always an issue.

Either I felt like they didn't contribute enough to the household or they felt like I was not treating them with respect when I told them I could buy what I wanted with MY money.

This guy does curse a lot but if you can get past that he does have a point, in my opinion.

Was the Tattoo Worth it?

image from baledger.com

I was in Walgreens  picking up a few items when I noticed this lady with a VERY short dress on. With temperatures in the low 30s, there was only one type of woman that came to mind.  Sorry, I judge people but I'm working on that.

Anyway, when I got in line behind this hooker, I noticed her constantly wiggling and looking down at her leg.  I thought she had finally figured out it was winter and was wondering why she didn't have any pants on or at least some tights.  She had several tattoos on her leg but it took me a minute to realize that one of them was freshly done.

To be sure I asked, "Did you just get that?"
"Yes, and it's still bleeding," Then she asked the cashier if she had any tissue. The lady was nice enough to stop scanning the merchandise of her customer to look for tissue but there wasn't any in her immediate area.

I continued to look at tattoo lady wiggling and noticed that the only thing she was about to purchase was some ointment.  Poor thing. Not only was her leg on the verge of getting infected but she was probably going to develop a bad cold before the night was over with.

image from all4women.co.za

In my opinion, tattoos are great forms of artist/creative expression. I wouldn't personally get one but to each their own. Being that she had gotten at least one tattoo before, I wondered why she didn't get the ointment before she went to get the tattoo.

It wasn't my business but hey, I'm a writer and it's my job to observe people, right?