Come See Me at my New Blog!

For anyone who's stopping by to check in with me, I have a new blog over at Wordpress. It's amysdailystruggle.wordpress.com. Hope to see you there!!

This May be It....

So obviously I haven't posted in a while. A lot has been happening here and blogging fell by the wayside, needless to say. This may be my last post--for the time being, anyway. I have to focus on my family and what's going on here at home. Nothing desperately major, mind you. My husband is leaving his job after 17 years and we're considering our options; thankfully, we have several available to us. We're fortunate my husband is successful in his line of work and many people are now knocking on his door. It's reassuring in an otherwise unsettling time. We're going to be fine, when so many other people I know right now don't have the options we have and are really struggling. I've been quite distressed these past few weeks--change and I don't get along that well. I've had hardly any time or energy to devote to writing, much less my blog. It just takes too much effort. I look at my friends who are dedicated and successful at blogging. I wish I could be more like them, but I'm a mother first, a wife second, a writer third and a blogger.....67th. Everything else takes precedence at the moment.
So thank you to everyone who has stopped by over time. I appreciate you taking moments out of your busy schedules to check in with me. I will continue to do the same for you. Blog trolling is a lot easier and less time consuming. It provides a nice break when I've hit the proverbial writing wall.

My husband hasn't had much time to work on our office, but here's how it looks so far:

He did the tile "hearth" there in front of the fireplace. Thank you, Lord, for the side projects in our lives, the ones that keep our minds off the B.S. and focused on the important things.
God Bless you all!!

We Lost Some Good Ones This Past Week

Dick Francis, Alexander McQueen and now Doug Fieger, lead singer of The Knack. Boy, it makes me feel old when folks my age or of my generation pass on (I'm referring to Mr.'s McQueen and Fieger. Mr. Francis was a bit ahead of my time).

How many times did I spin my little 45 of this song when I was 12???? About a million! I loved "My Sharona" and it makes me happy every time I hear it.



RIP, Doug Fieger, and thanks for some fun music!!

Yabba-Dabba-Doh!

The culprit:

The scene of the crime:

The victim: 











Diagnosis: Broken right thumb

Level of Frustration because I did this to myself:  Extremely High!!!

The pictures tell the story, right? Divot asked to go outside, the door got stuck on snow and ice that had accumulated in the track, so I hoisted it shut with all of my weight and my finger got in the way. Then...I couldn't re-open the door to release my finger. That was a fun two seconds. I watched my nail turn purplish-black, and felt my knees wobble from the pain. Spent the better part of the afternoon in the urgent care center, but left with some pain killers--thank God! And if anyone out there ever has to have blood drained from a fingernail, fret not. It sounds horrible, but within seconds you're relieved of pain. I was a little grossed-out at first, (nail issues aren't my thang) but what a fabulous feeling when that pressure is removed! I almost didn't go to the urgent care center, thought I should buck up and just deal with the pain; even swore all the way into the X-ray room, "There's no way my thumb is broken!" Well, at least I gave the doctors and nurses a good laugh. I know I'm a nurse, but my ability to self-diagnose has never been good. Just ask my mom and husband about the time I denied being in labor.
Still working on my short, although the phrase "churning out pages" no longer applies now that I have a thumb the likes of Fred Flintstone.

Today I Feel....Grateful!!!

These characters are supposed to represent gratitude. I hope they do, because what do I know about Chinese characters? I always feel grateful for the "normal" things like my health, home, etc., but today I feel gratitude for the following, specific things:

1. My current short story. I've rewritten it 7 times now, but have worked out a lot of nonsense and feel happy to be so motivated and excited about a story.

2. My writer's group. Because they've helped me greatly with the above-mentioned story and at this past Monday night's meeting helped me brainstorm some juicy ideas/details that I believe will enhance and propel the story forward. Thanks Dan and Diane!

3. My parents visiting. They arrived yesterday after battling a horrible snowstorm in NJ. I'm grateful they're here and grateful for their safe journey.

4. My girls' fabulous report cards. I'm happy they love school and are doing well. Go girlies!!

and 5. For my wonderful/erudite/friends who have great taste in literature and who've recommended Juliet, Naked (Nick Hornby) Olive Kitteridge (Elizabeth Strout) and what I'm reading now, The Help (Kathryn Stockett). I've loved these books and have loved spending time with them. I bought The Help on Monday and am finishing it up tonight. What a page turner! Funny and poignant, I highly recommend this one.

If any of you have any other suggestions, I'd love to hear 'em!

Yes, I'm Still Here and....Happy New Year, Everyone!!

Sorry I haven't visited my own blog lately. The holidays were crazy, and then I got back into writing, so other things--like blogging--fell by the wayside. I'm busy working on a short story. I've felt quite motivated to work on this story and needless to say, I hope it gets picked up. This is the feeling I love about writing--when I'm inspired and motivated, even though what I've put out is rough. I've already rewritten this story six times and it's still not quite right. I'm getting there, though.
We've had a TON of snow here in northest Ohio. It's finally beginning to melt, but we think we got nearly 3 feet overall.
A couple of people have asked for an update on the office project, so here are some pictures. My husband got a lot accomplished this past weekend. We had lights installed in the niche above the fireplace. I hope to put a piece of artwork in that spot. I was concerned that the fireplace would make the room too warm, but that hasn't been the case--at least not in the past few weeks with all of this cold and snow. It's quite the luxury to flip it on, get the room warm and turn it off. Here's a shot of the snow outside our back door. We even got more snow than what is shown here. Oy.

I've also been wrestling with the notion of perfectionism. I've never considered myself a perfectionist. I'm always quick to point out how many perfectionists I have in my life and I seem to surround myself with them. But recently I've come to accept my own perfectionism--in general every day life, in my attempts to lose weight and lead a healthier lifestyle and in my writing. It came out in this story I'm currently working on and I've had to sit back and consider how I, too, am (sort of) a perfectionist. I guess I'm not ready to fully embrace the label, but I'm....working on it.

Happy Holidays, Everyone!

This video made me smile so I thought I'd share it with you here. It (sort of) has something for everyone. I hope everyone's holidays are happy and healthy!!