Life in progress


34 Comments

One-Liner Wednesday – You get it, right?

I posted this cartoon a while back on Facebook, and Dale was the only one who “liked” it. I thought it was quite clever.

It’s funny, damnit!

____________________________________________________________________________

Anyone who would like to participate, feel free to use the “One-Liner Wednesday” title in your post, and if you do,
you can ping back here to help your blog get more exposure. To execute a ping back, just copy the URL in the address bar on this post, and paste it somewhere in the body of your post. Your link will show up in the comments below. Please ensure that the One-Liner Wednesday you’re pinging back to is this week’s! Otherwise, no one will likely see it but me.

As with Stream of Consciousness Saturday (SoCS), if you see a ping back from someone else in my comment section, click and have a read. It’s bound to be short and sweet.

Unlike SoCS, this is not a prompt so there’s no need to stick to the same “theme.”

The rules that I’ve made for myself (but don’t always follow) for “One-Liner Wednesday” are:

1. Make it one sentence.

2. Try to make it either funny or inspirational.

3. Use our unique tag #1linerWeds.

4. Add our new, very cool badge to your post for extra exposure!

5. Have fun!

#1linerWeds badge by nearlywes.com

#1linerWeds badge by nearlywes.com

 


38 Comments

#SoCS – Dreaming

Ow, ow, ow, it hurts! Do you ever wake up and say that? Happened to me this morning – my head, all my joints, my stomach… I felt like someone had beaten me up in my sleep. It was probably due to the fact that I actually slept for about six hours in a row and then another one. I’m not used to laying down that long. But you gotta wonder if you are getting beaten up, you know? Especially after a dream like the one I had yesterday. I wrote about it on my Facebook page yesterday. When I’m finished this post I’ll copy and paste it here:

I just had a dream in which my son’s white cat (who never comes near me) came in from outside covered in snow. While I was drying him off, he turned into an East Indian man who wouldn’t leave the bathroom while I was trying to pee, then he turned the bathroom into the setting of a music video complete with a full band. They played a song and he sang – in the song he was trying to talk me into killing myself. Then I woke up. This is why I don’t do naps during the day.

Or maybe it was like a Friday the 13th hangover. I didn’t have a lot of bad luck yesterday – just a bit. I was worried for a while last night after I spilled 10mg of Alex’s heart meds on the floor and the dog licked it up. It’s meant to slow down Alex’s heart rate. Luckily the puppy doesn’t seem to have had any ill effects. He’s happily chewing a rawhide bone by my side. But back to Friday the 13th. I used to view it with fear. Now, not so much. It’s just a number, right? Why should Saturday the 14th be any better or worse? Except the hangover thing – possibly caused by the ultimate relaxation that comes from being tense all day the day before? Have you ever experienced such a thing? It’d be interesting to study the phenomenon…

I think my Tylenol is wearing off. Time for another couple. Ta ta.

SoCS badge 2015

This post is part of Stream of Consciousness Saturday. Click the link and see how you, too, can join in! https://lindaghill.com/2016/05/13/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-may-1416/


57 Comments

The Friday Reminder and Prompt for #SoCS May 14/16

It’s Friday once again, so I’m here with your Stream of Consciousness Saturday prompt. I’ve had a rough couple of nights with a kid intent on keeping me awake for most of them, so I’m not sure I’m completely “with it” today. Oh well. On an entirely unrelated note, I was thinking that it’s been a while since I left the prompt word up to you. That’s what I’ll do this week. Here’s the prompt:

Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is: Start your post with a two-letter word. End it with a two-letter word for bonus points. Have fun!

After you’ve written your Saturday post tomorrow, please link it here at this week’s prompt page and check to make sure it’s here in the comments so others can find it and see your awesome Stream of Consciousness post. Anyone can join in!

To make your post more visible, use the SoCS badge! Just paste it in your Saturday post so people browsing the reader will immediately know your post is stream of consciousness and/or pin it as a widget to your site to show you’re a participant. Wear it with pride!!

SoCS badge 2015

Here are the rules:

1. Your post must be stream of consciousness writing, meaning no editing, (typos can be fixed) and minimal planning on what you’re going to write.

2. Your post can be as long or as short as you want it to be. One sentence – one thousand words. Fact, fiction, poetry – it doesn’t matter. Just let the words carry you along until you’re ready to stop.

3. There will be a prompt every week. I will post the prompt here on my blog on Friday, along with a reminder for you to join in. The prompt will be one random thing, but it will not be a subject. For instance, I will not say “Write about dogs”; the prompt will be more like, “Make your first sentence a question,” “Begin with the word ‘The’,” or simply a single word to get your started.

4. Ping back! It’s important, so that I and other people can come and read your post! For example, in your post you can write “This post is part of SoCS:” and then copy and paste the URL found in your address bar at the top of this post into yours.  Your link will show up in my comments for everyone to see. The most recent pingbacks will be found at the top.

5. Read at least one other person’s blog who has linked back their post. Even better, read everyone’s! If you’re the first person to link back, you can check back later, or go to the previous week, by following my category, “Stream of Consciousness Saturday,” which you’ll find right below the “Like” button on my post.

6. Copy and paste the rules (if you’d like to) in your post. The more people who join in, the more new bloggers you’ll meet and the bigger your community will get!

7. As a suggestion, tag your post “SoCS” and/or “#SoCS” for more exposure and more views.

8. Have fun!


29 Comments

One-Liner Wednesday – Watch Out!

I’m about to take you into a dark place: My mind. Ready?

Momastrophe – A catastrophe of a decaffeinated nature, in which Mom doesn’t get her coffee in the morning. Momastrophe.

____________________________________________________________________________

Anyone who would like to participate, feel free to use the “One-Liner Wednesday” title in your post, and if you do,
you can ping back here to help your blog get more exposure. To execute a ping back, just copy the URL in the address bar on this post, and paste it somewhere in the body of your post. Your link will show up in the comments below. Please ensure that the One-Liner Wednesday you’re pinging back to is this week’s! Otherwise, no one will likely see it but me.

As with Stream of Consciousness Saturday (SoCS), if you see a ping back from someone else in my comment section, click and have a read. It’s bound to be short and sweet.

Unlike SoCS, this is not a prompt so there’s no need to stick to the same “theme.”

The rules that I’ve made for myself (but don’t always follow) for “One-Liner Wednesday” are:

1. Make it one sentence.

2. Try to make it either funny or inspirational.

3. Use our unique tag #1linerWeds.

4. Add our new, very cool badge to your post for extra exposure!

5. Have fun!

#1linerWeds badge by nearlywes.com

#1linerWeds badge by nearlywes.com


12 Comments

Friendship – #tuesdayuseitinasentence

Anyone who is my friend, knows to be patient. I can go for years without talking to people, but that doesn’t mean, in my mind at least, that the friendship no longer exists.

bwswans

Tuesday Use It In A Sentence is brought to you by MLW. Click on the link to join in! https://awordadventure.wordpress.com/2016/05/10/tuesdayuseitinasentence-friendship/ It’s fun!


20 Comments

K’lee and Dale’s Cosmic Photo Challenge – Woodlands

I took this picture last year.

the original

the original

I love it, but I felt like it needed something extra done with it. My camera washed the scene out; while it looks hazily romantic, it’s not clear enough to see what was there.

Here’s what I came up with: first, I darkened it to make it look closer to the actual scene.

satur

Then, just for fun, I took the colour out of it.

unsatur

I like the way the swans pop out of the picture in this last one.

Which do you prefer?

For this week’s Cosmic Photo Challenge,  the prompt was “Into the woods”, giving you a pretty broad theme of trees, woodlands, forests, leaves, anything arboreal in fact. You can find it by clicking
here.


23 Comments

#atozchallenge – Reflections times two

I learned a lot from both of my A to Z Challenges.

First, I wasn’t sure I had enough material to pull off the theme I chose for this blog, which was parenting a Deaf child as a hearing mother. I was afraid I’d repeat myself. I don’t think I did. In the process of writing it, I also learned that what I do without really thinking about it on a daily basis is extraordinary. Not to say that I believe myself to be special, but like anything we do until we are no longer conscious of the mechanics of it, whether it’s touch-typing, driving a car, playing a video game, or whatever it is we do well, if we take the time to break it down into steps, we can usually find ourselves awestruck that our brains can do so much at once. Putting it that way, I don’t think I’m any different than anyone. I just have a different set of circumstances.

At the same time, I hope by sharing my life and what it’s like to survive as a Deaf person, I’ve raised some awareness for those who may never know, but who might meet by chance, someone who cannot hear. They are everywhere. To find my challenge from the beginning, click here: https://lindaghill.com/2016/04/01/all-about-alex-atoz-challenge/

For my second challenge, I took on the task of showing rather than telling different characteristics of people in fiction. I learned that it’s not easy, when writing less than 200 words, and in some cases only 50, to pull a virtue or flaw out of a character and relay it sufficiently. I’m sure I failed a few times, but hey, it was an exercise to better my craft. We learn from our mistakes as well as our successes.  You can find the start of my fiction A to Z here: https://lindaghillfiction.com/2016/04/01/apathetic-a-z-april-blogging-challenge/

As much fun as this year’s A to Z was, I admit I’m glad it’s over. As well as editing my epic paranormal romance novel, I’m also planning to self-publish my A to Z fiction (a romantic comedy novelette) from two years ago. I’ve promised myself the latter will be available for sale next month.  On a related note, as you may know, I plan to turn this year’s A to Z on parenting a Deaf child into a book. Therefore, I’ll be removing it from view on my blog at the end of this month. If you haven’t read it all yet, and want to before I compile it for publication, do it soon!

It’s been great meeting new bloggers through the challenge. I hope to participate again next year. It’s been a blast!


3 Comments

Song-Lyric Sunday – “The Way” – Fastball

Today’s theme for Song-Lyric Sunday is Moms. I wanted to share something a little different. I’ve always loved the song, “The Way,” by Fastball. It reminds me of carefree days before kids, when the world was my oyster and the road was paved with gold, at least in my mind. It also reminds me that there are people in the world who never grow up, who never submit to the responsibility of the children they bear. What the couple does in the song is a fleeting fantasy. One I admit to occasionally having. In me, it only lasts a split second. For some…

“The Way” – Fastball

They made up their minds
And they started packing
They left before the sun came up that day
An exit to eternal summer slacking
But where were they going without ever
Knowing the way?

They drank up the wine
And they got to talking
They now had more important things to say
And when the car broke down they started walking
Where were they going without ever
Knowing the way?

[Chorus:]
Anyone can see the road that they walk on
Is paved in gold
And it’s always summer
They’ll never get cold
They’ll never get hungry
They’ll never get old and grey
You can see their shadows wandering off somewhere
They won’t make it home
But they really don’t care
They wanted the highway
They’re happier there today, today

Their children woke up
And they couldn’t find them
They left before the sun came up that day
They just drove off and left it all behind ’em
But where were they going without ever
Knowing the way?

[Chorus]

Song-Lyric Sunday is brought to you by the lovely and talented Helen Espinosa. Click the link and learn how you, too, can join in! https://helenespinosa.wordpress.com/2016/05/08/song-lyric-sunday-oh-mother-by-christina-aguilera/

img_1345


28 Comments

#SoCS – Apparently a parent

What makes one a parent? Is it the simple act of creating another life? Or is it having days like the one I’m having today? It started with coming out of my bedroom to find the kid at the top of the stairs holding a dog biscuit up above his head and the dog about to jump up at him from the stair above (the kid was one step down from the top) and about to knock him down the entire flight backwards.

Said kid has been frustrated all day by one thing after another, and screaming his head off (as he is now) and testing my limits as he does it.

The second time he tried to kill himself today (I’m saying this is the second, because things come in threes and I want it to be over already) he decided he wasn’t going to eat today. At all. I had visions of him ending up in hospital hooked up to an IV because his heart can’t handle dehydration.

And then (you’ll really get a kick out of this one) he pulled the power cord out of his laptop (still plugged into the wall) and decided it might be yummy. He actually put it in his mouth before I noticed. !!!!!

If being stressed out means being a parent to a child who doesn’t realize how self-destructive he’s being, and actually staying with him while he practically kills me, then apparently I’m a parent.

I actually thought about recording him but I don’t want my audience to hate me. You’re welcome.

P.S. In case you’re not sure how to take this post, I’m still smiling. Smile with me. We’re all still alive.

SoCS badge 2015

This madness post is part of Stream of Consciousness Saturday. Click the link and join in today! https://lindaghill.com/2016/05/06/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-may-716/


41 Comments

The Friday Reminder and Prompt for #SoCS May 7/16

Hey! Hi there! It’s Friday! That means it’s time for your Stream of Consciousness Saturday prompt! Despite all the exclamation marks, I’m not really that energetic. But sometimes ya just gotta pretend, right? Here in North America, and possibly in India, it’s Mother’s Day this weekend. In celebration, I thought I’d give everyone the opportunity (or not) to post about it for SoCS. Here’s the prompt:

Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is: “apparent/a parent.”  Use either one or both. You choose. Enjoy!

After you’ve written your Saturday post tomorrow, please link it here at this week’s prompt page and check to make sure it’s here in the comments so others can find it and see your awesome Stream of Consciousness post. Anyone can join in!

To make your post more visible, use the SoCS badge! Just paste it in your Saturday post so people browsing the reader will immediately know your post is stream of consciousness and/or pin it as a widget to your site to show you’re a participant. Wear it with pride!!

SoCS badge 2015

Here are the rules:

1. Your post must be stream of consciousness writing, meaning no editing, (typos can be fixed) and minimal planning on what you’re going to write.

2. Your post can be as long or as short as you want it to be. One sentence – one thousand words. Fact, fiction, poetry – it doesn’t matter. Just let the words carry you along until you’re ready to stop.

3. There will be a prompt every week. I will post the prompt here on my blog on Friday, along with a reminder for you to join in. The prompt will be one random thing, but it will not be a subject. For instance, I will not say “Write about dogs”; the prompt will be more like, “Make your first sentence a question,” “Begin with the word ‘The’,” or simply a single word to get your started.

4. Ping back! It’s important, so that I and other people can come and read your post! For example, in your post you can write “This post is part of SoCS:” and then copy and paste the URL found in your address bar at the top of this post into yours.  Your link will show up in my comments for everyone to see. The most recent pingbacks will be found at the top.

5. Read at least one other person’s blog who has linked back their post. Even better, read everyone’s! If you’re the first person to link back, you can check back later, or go to the previous week, by following my category, “Stream of Consciousness Saturday,” which you’ll find right below the “Like” button on my post.

6. Copy and paste the rules (if you’d like to) in your post. The more people who join in, the more new bloggers you’ll meet and the bigger your community will get!

7. As a suggestion, tag your post “SoCS” and/or “#SoCS” for more exposure and more views.

8. Have fun!