Our prompt word for January 24th is “ideal.” Thanks so much, Astrid, for the great prompt!
I like playing solitaire.
Because no matter what …
I deal.
See what I did there?
***
This ridiculous post is brought to you by Just Jot it January and Paula! Please be sure to check out Astrid’s blog here!
For Just Jot it January, click the following link to see how you, too, can join in! https://lindaghill.com/2023/01/24/daily-prompt-jusjojan-the-24th-2023/ It’s fun!
The prompt word for January 20th was “phantom.” Thanks, Tuba, for the fun prompt!
I’m a day late with this one, in part because I’ve had a stunningly busy couple of days, and in part because of a crippling stiff neck.
It plagued me all day yesterday, but it was better this morning. Now it’s back, probably due to the fact that I’m stressed over not getting everything done.
It’s a circle.
The circle of life.
Is a pain in the neck. Apparently.
But really, I can pretty much count on some kind of ailment showing up when I’m busy.
Grrr…
See what I did up there, though?
Now I don’t have to write a separate SoCS post.
Sneaky me.
***
This sneaky yet agonizing post is brought to you by Just Jot it January and Tuba and SoCS! Please be sure to check out Tuba’s blog here!
For Just Jot it January, click the following link to see how you, too, can join in! https://lindaghill.com/2023/01/20/daily-prompt-jusjojan-the-20th-2023/ It’s fun!
The prompt word of the day today is “complaint.” Thanks, John for the interesting prompt!
It’s inherent: as a mom, you’re the complaint department.
And if you’re a single mom, you don’t even have an employee (dad) to take over when the complaints pile up.
Because we all know being a mom is a thankless job, most of the time.
It doesn’t pay very well, either. Especially when the cuddles dry up and the customers no longer fit on your lap.
Wow. That simile got weird fast, didn’t it?
***
This short, sweet, and odd post is brought to you by Just Jot it January and John! Please be sure to check out John’s blog here!
For Just Jot it January, click the following link to see how you, too, can join in! https://lindaghill.com/2023/01/19/daily-prompt-jusjojan-the-19th-2023/ It’s fun!
Our prompt word of the day today is “hyphenated.” Thanks today go to Sally for the great prompt!
As an editor, I spend most of my days fixing hyphens or looking up hyphens … did you know hyphenated words (and non-hyphenated words) are in the dictionary? If you’re ever not sure, have a look.
A lot of the time it depends how you’re using the words. You and someone else can walk side by side beside side-by-side windows, for instance.
Ah, I love the English language.
Much easier than trying to figure out French.
No matter how much they told me to allons-y at school.
***
This hyphenateful post is brought to you by Just Jot it January and Sally! Please be sure to check out Sally’s blog here!
For Just Jot it January, click the following link to see how you, too, can join in! https://lindaghill.com/2023/01/17/daily-prompt-jusjojan-the-17th-2023/ It’s fun!
Our prompt word of the day today is “optimism.” Thank you so much, June for your wonderful prompt!
In coming up with something to write on the subject of optimism, I’ve discovered something. As I so often do.
I’ve discovered that optimism is easier the narrower the subject gets. Case in point:
Am I optimistic about the state of the world? Not really. At least not with the way it’s going.
The state of my country? A bit more so, but it’s beginning to go the way of the world.
The province I live in? Not unless we can get rid of Doug Ford.
My family? Sure. We’re doing okay.
This post?
I have the highest optimism that it’s going to get posted in three … two … one …
***
This somewhat optimistic post is brought to you by Just Jot it January and June! Please be sure to check out June’s blog here!
For Just Jot it January, click the following link to see how you, too, can join in! https://lindaghill.com/2023/01/16/daily-prompt-jusjojan-the-16th-2023/ It’s fun!
Once upon a time … You’d think this would be easy for me, wouldn’t you?
I tell stories all the time.
And yet, every single time I write one, I ask myself, Is this autobiographical? Am I writing about me?
I don’t want to write about me when I write fiction, so I try to steer away from it.
But I think it’s a common thing for writers to wonder. How else can we write aside from relaying what we’ve observed about the world? And how much of those things, those experiences, has seeped in to make us who we are?
GAH!
I didn’t want to get philosophical with this.
Who came up with this prompt anyway?!?
Oh.
I did.
***
This cozy post is brought to you by SoCS and Just Jot it January. Click the link to see how you, too, can join in! It’s fun! https://lindaghill.com/2023/01/13/the-friday-reminder-for-socs-jusjojan-2023-daily-prompt-jan-14th/
2019-2020 SoCS Badge by Shelley! https://www.quaintrevival.com/
Our prompt word of the day today is “donut.” Thank you so much, Liz Husebye Hartmann for your fun suggestion!
Okay, today for me is going to be a true jot.
Ready?
I have an important question:
Is a Bundt cake really just a huge donut?
Discuss.
***
This jotty post is brought to you by Just Jot it January and Liz Husebye Hartmann! Thanks again, Liz Husebye Hartmann, for your yummy prompt. Please be sure to check out Liz Husebye Hartmann’s blog here!
For Just Jot it January, click the following link to see how you, too, can join in! https://lindaghill.com/2023/01/12/daily-prompt-jusjojan-the-12th-2023/ It’s fun!
I just wrote in my planner “Got distracted by Facebook/went to the pantry for nuts,” and now I’m convinced I’m actually a squirrel.
Picture courtesy of Canva
Photo: Cute red squirrel with a white belly and a fluffy black tail eating a peanut in its shell.
If you would like to participate in this prompt, 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.
Here are the simple JusJoJan Rules:
1. Just Jot It January starts January 1st, but it’s never too late to join in! Here, we run on the honour system; the “jot it” part of JusJoJan means that anything you jot down, anywhere (it doesn’t have to be a post, it can even be a grocery list), counts as a “jot.” If it makes it to your blog that day, great! If it waits a week to get from a sticky note to your screen, no problem!
2. I’ll post prompts at 2am my time (GMT -5). The prompt will be the word in quotation marks in the title of my 2am post. You don’t have to follow the prompt every day, but that will be where you leave your link for others to see. You’ll get a prompt for every day except Wednesday, when the prompt is simply my One-Liner Wednesday and on Saturday, when your prompt will be the Friday Reminder and Prompt for #SoCS, which will appear at about 9:30am Friday. Each prompt post will include the rules.
2 a) 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 lovely badge to your post for extra exposure!
5. Have fun!
Badge by Laura @ riddlefromthemiddle.com
3. Please ping back or link to the daily prompt. To ping back, just copy the URL from the daily prompt post, and paste it anywhere in your post. Check to make sure your link shows up where you want it to, and go back occasionally to see other bloggers’ entries – the more you visit others, the more they’ll visit you! Note: A) The newest pingbacks will be at the top of the comments section. B) Ping backs only work if you’re blogging on WordPress. Everyone else must paste a link manually.
4. Tag your post JusJoJan and/or #JusJoJan.
5. Write anything! Any length will do! It can even be a photo or a drawing – you’re going to title it, right? There’s your jot!
6. If your post is NSFW, do not ping back. Please leave your link in the comments with a warning.
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Funny story.
I was talking to my son Chris this morning about a dream he had of elephants.
As we were chatting, Winston, our dog, came into the kitchen to say hello to me.
I bent to pat him and asked him if he was an elephant.
“You’ve got four legs, and a tail, and floppy ears, and a long nose,” I told him. “But you can’t be an elephant. You’ve got a furry body.”
To which Chris replied, “Elephants are skinnier.”
“Skinnier than Winston? I’ve never seen an elephant skinnier than Winston,” I said.
“No, Mom, not skinnier. SKINnier. They have more skin!”
So I’m hereby declaring myself skinnier than an Irish Setter.
And no one is going to convince me otherwise!
I have one resolution for 2023 and that’s to organize my numerous goals.
Now, I’m sure you’re like, what the heck, Linda? Isn’t having goals just a subset of having resolutions?
Nuh-uh. It’s better than that.
I’ve spent the better part of the last year failing at most of the things I wanted to accomplish on a personal level. My freelance editing business is going very well, and I always manage to get projects done on time, if not early. But the stuff I wanted to do that isn’t on a deadline, i.e. writing my own books? Not so much.
So rather than resolving to write and publish, say, two or three of my own creations this year, I’m going more granular, by organizing my time so I can see what I can reasonably get done in the space of 365 days.
It’s easy to think “I’ll just scroll through Facebook and get to work on my own novel—the one no one is holding me accountable for—later.” But then five minutes on Facebook turns into hours and then I think “It’s okay, I’ll do it tomorrow!”
It’s the rinse and repeat that never ends.
Unless I organize myself.
So yeah, that’s my resolution. Set timers, work when I know I’ll have a chance, organize my time, figure out how long each step takes, and rinse and repeat that instead.
Sounds like a solid plan, right?
I’ll let you know how it goes.
P.S. I looked through my resolutions/bucket lists from past years and there’s one item I’m still striving for. In 2016 I said I wanted to spend a weekend alone in my home. Since then, I don’t think I’ve even had an hour alone. I’ll get there, though. Watch out for the boot, kids! 😉
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This determined and mildly threatening post is brought to you by Just Jot it January! Click the following link to see how you, too, can join in! https://lindaghill.com/2023/01/01/daily-prompt-jusjojan-the-1st-2023/ It’s fun!
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