I Did and I Didn't

No, I didn't post last week.

I attribute that to my non-sleeping daughter, a busy week, and a Thursday migrane.
Also, I went on a date to the Temple with my husband that night, which was slightly more important than this blog (gasp!).

So, I apologize.

BUT....

I have big news.

I am taking on a challenge.

And I am super excited about it.

And it is going to get me writing again.

You, see, November is National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo for short).

And...I signed up today!

Which means, starting Thursday, I am going to be doing a whole lot of writing. (Keep your fingers crossed that Kevin will start taking really good naps...and that my husband will still be fed, because sometimes when I get into a writing mood, I can't come out of it). The sponsors of the event compare this to running a marathon--instead it's writing a marathon.

What is NaNoWriMo? Here is a breakdown:

1. Aspiring authors set a goal to write an entire novel during the month of November.
2. The novel should be at least 50,000 words (that breaks down to an average of 1667 words a day and roughly a 175 page manuscript by the end of the month).
3. Writers are encouraged to forgo editing and ignore grammatical mistakes. The goal is to have a completed rough draft by the end of the month.

I'm a little nervous, but mostly just excited. I have two days to figure out which of the five or six stories in my head I'm going to write. Fantasy? Historical fiction? The story of one of my ancestors? Plain old fiction?

Who knows.

But I think that will be part of the adventure.

Start with a story. A setting. A character. A sentence.

And see where I end up by the end of November.

I'll keep you updated :)

Writing Prompts

So, I know I promised something good this week. And I've put a lot of effort into finding a good idea, really, I have.

I got nuthin.

Yesterday I decided to google "writing prompts" and see if I could find some inspiration. I found lots of writing prompts for amateur fiction writers (of which I am one, when I'm in the mood). But nothing that seemed to drum up a memory which I could base a blog post around. So I googled "nonfiction writing prompts."

And I found this list: 101 Nonfiction Writing Prompts.

I'll give you the first ten with my first reactions:

• 1What's the fastest way to complete a (task) with (name of software)? The fastest way to complete the dishes is to guilt your husband into doing them.
• 2What are the advantages of using (tech product 1) over (tech product 2)?The advantages of using disposable diapers over cloth diapers are numerous, and begin with less poopy laundry.
• 3How do you find blogs that you can guest post on?Why would you want to guest blog? Get your own dang blog.
• 4What kinds of things stress children out?What kinds of things stress my child out? When I don't feed her fast enough, when her father sneezes, when she is too tired to sleep, and when I put the remotes and cell phones just out of her reach. Poor thing.
• 5How can you other people to submit articles to your blog?How is this question proper English?
• 6As a beginning blogger, what's the best way to ensure long term success?Don't erase your blog. Post on it. Done and done.
• 7How can you make your blog stand out in a crowded niche?I  would suggest NOT buying into the cooking blog, sewing blog, crafty blog, I'm-the-best-Mormon-Mommy-Ever blog. Basically, if you are trying to get on pinterest, you're in too crowded of a niche. Get out of it. Don't try to compete. Chances are you are trying to prove something to an audience that just wants to know a cheaper way to run a house and probably has already called their mom and their mom had no answers so now they've turned to google, and when google had no answers, they turned to pinterest.
• 8What does it take to become a top blog in your niche?Going off my above answer, obviously, to become a top blog, you need to create your own niche.
• 9How do you introduce the vegan lifestyle to a child?You say, "if you don't learn how to eat meat and things with milk, eggs, and cheese, your taste buds will die and you will have to eat like chronically ill people or vegans. It doesn't taste very good, but these are very brave people to do it, and we respect them, and we eat their meat and dessert."
• 10What are some good bedtime habits for parent and child to adopt?Bahahahahahahaha. Yeah right.

And I came to one conclusion: if any bloggers actually used any of these prompts, we would all be so bored out of our minds that we'd stop reading before we began.

So here are a few writing prompts I came up with today:

1. Say your friend Taylor Swift, who doesn't have any real relationship experience of her own, came to you to ask about your relationships for a song idea. What might she write about? Which stations would play it? And who would cry? Pre-teens, teens, grandmas? (Note: I asked Scott this question and he wrote me a beautiful song that started with "he was short and shy" and ended with "love letters.").

2. What side effects do you experience from anesthesia? What side effects do you wish you had? (Note: got my ingrown toe nail fixed today and was a little weirded out by my numb toe...TMI, sorry)

3. What if you could put your face on any cartoon character's body? Who would you choose to be and why? (Note: I got to do this today at the North Logan Pumpkin Walk!)

4. What if your child actually went to bed at the same time each night? What would you do with all that extra time? What if she actually STAYED asleep? (Note: ahhh, the possibilities.)

5. What if people stopped lying about their babies being so-called "perfect-sleepers"? (Note: Mommas everywhere would feel a lot less overwhelmed!)

6. What if you could pick professions for your siblings? Your children? Your best friends?

7. What if you had nightmares about pinterest? Like, as in, you were surrounded by crafts and projects you felt compelled to start but could never finish--sometimes never even get started? (Note: if you have an answer to this, please let me know. I've been having pinterest nightmares for two weeks, yet I can't seem to stay away...and somewhere in the dreams about cute things I have to make for my daughter, I hear her crying and then start reading sleep-training articles and can't differentiate between her actually crying and dreaming. Awful.)

8. What would you lose if your hopes and dreams were instantly granted? For example, no couple ever had to wait for a baby or a career or a house or a job? (Note: Because sometimes the best lessons we learn in life come from the waiting. I hate this, but I know it is true!)


Okay, I think that is enough to think about before bed tonight. I will continue to post writing prompts as I think about them.

I suggest you don't buy the book mentioned at the link above. Instead, spend 15 minutes with a child. You'll come up with more than 101 (or 1,699, as the book promises) things to write about!

Seriously, though...pinterest nightmares are the worst.

Also, I don't care that this blog has only 150ish page views. I'm not trying to get on pinterest, or earn money from sponsors, or end up on Studio 5 on KSL. I'm trying to be me. 

I almost forgot.

Today is Thursday.

This week has flown by.

It wasn't supposed to.

It was supposed to be agonizingly slow.

Instead, here it is Thursday, and I have very little to show for the week. Here is what I have been up to:

1. Stressing over family pictures. I desperately want our family to look "cute." But since I haven't had an updated wardrobe since before my mission (with the exception of new maternity clothes last winter that I only got to wear for about two and a half months thanks to my premie), I'm a little concerned about what to wear. Of course, buying things for Kevin is no problem (feeling guilty about spending money, however, is a problem, for me at least). Finding something I like enough for me and then talking myself into spending money on clothes for me is torture. But, two orders to oldnavy.com later, I think all we have left to find is an undershirt for me. And maybe a new shirt for Scotty. But he's okay wearing what he has. Because I think he looks hott in anything! Lucky he isn't as picky as I am.

2. Working on my not-a-surprise Christmas present for Scotty: his mission scrapbook. Shutterfly is the best website ever and I am addicted. This is my third book project in about three months. I have loved going through his mission pictures and pulling out the box of letters he sent me while he was on his mission and then while I finished mine. I was reminded this week of the amazing missionary I married. And, miraculously, new notes have shown up here and there reminding me that the here and now is just as beautiful as those not-so-much-love letters we wrote back when we merely wondered whether or not the other person like, like-liked us.  I think my favorite was an addition to my Tuesday To Do List: "make out with Scotty." (It's one of the few things that did get crossed off that day).

3. Being relieved. This week could have been a super-life changing week for my little sister. I don't feel like I can share more than that out of respect to her, but I am so grateful, for her sake, that things didn't turn out the way they could have. Sometimes life stinks. Sometimes Heavenly Father gives us these wake-up calls that remind us to be grateful for what we have, even when what we have may not seem all that great at the time.

4. Playing with Kevin. We've read lots of stories, dirtied lots of bibs, and sang lots of songs. Oh, and we've been sleep training. After a week of sleeping in three-hour shifts, we were amazed that she's managed to sleep more than nine hours two nights in a row! We're hoping and praying this becomes her new normal.  She turned seven months old yesterday and is mastering the art of sitting on her own this week. Thanks, baby, for the reminder that time never slows down!

5. Filling time. Scott has had to go into work early (six am) almost every day this week and has had lots of homework assignments and studying to do. So I haven't seen him very much. At least not as much as I'm used to. You'd be amazed at how much time we manage to find to be together, even though he works full time and goes to school full time. Today he played hooky from his first two classes. Said he just needed time with his girls. We had a lovely afternoon! I can't tell you how much we are looking forward to retirement--that is, if there is such a thing as retirement by the time we reach 65.

Here's to hoping!

Tune in next week for something brilliant. Promise :)

An Ode to Joy

I played the violin for three short years of my life. If you ask my siblings, even three years was probably too long a time. I was a screecher. I never reached that point of the stunning vibratos and enduring high notes. Don't believe me? Ask my mom. After all, it was her comment to some unknown friend on the telephone that I overheard one day while taking a break during practicing ("I just can't wait for the day when she plays nicely and doesn't squeak anymore") that led to my quitting of all things strings. For some reason, I feel the need to tell you why I quit before I tell you what I learned from playing.

I remember one violin lesson in particular. I was working on a recital piece, I don't remember which one, just that it was in one of those classical music books that are sort of cream-colored with the name of some famous composer surrounded in leaves on the cover. To me, those books were The Not Fun To Play Books. (I was more of an Arkansas Traveler type of a girl, not so much a minuet lady).

I did pretty well through the first few bars of the song, but there were three measures right in the middle of the page that kept tripping me up. My teacher kept making me repeat them over and over and over and finally she said, "Marinda, you are so worried about what is coming next that you are missing the easy notes right in front of you."

I've heard her voice come back to me several times over the years during periods of waiting. Waiting to graduate from high school so I could go to college. Waiting for Prince Charming to come (when he was a letter away all along). Waiting for my mission call so I could just leave already. Waiting an eternity, even though it was only minutes, to hear the diagnosis from the doctor that I knew was coming all along. Waiting to go home to a home that wasn't home anymore. Waiting for the go-ahead to go back to Texas. Waiting for my mission to be over so I could just get married already. Waiting for everything to be okay with my health so we could have a baby. Waiting for that last semester of college to be over so I could get on with being a mom. Waiting for my baby to get out of the hospital so I could really get on with being a mom. Waiting for my husband to finish his degree so we could get a real job.

Right now, I am worried about what is coming next. For me, for my little family, for my parents, for my siblings.

It occurred to me yesterday that I can't be so overwhelmed with what might happen that I'm not preparing for what will happen (whatever that may be).

So today I have been playing the "easy notes." I cleaned out my closet and created a bag to give to the DI. I called one of my best friends just to check in and see how she is doing. I read a few chapters of a book. I fed, changed, played, and cuddled with my baby. We had story time and she tried to eat the books. I paid the rent. I got groceries and checked the mail. I took Scott to school.

The easy notes add up. The combine together, they dance around each other, they strike chords in us that we didn't realize meant so much. They leave each listener that takes the time to appreciate them, in their simplicity, filled with awe.

After all, there is a reason "Ode to Joy" is in beginner songbooks.