Life in progress

Tag Archives: NaBloPoMo


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The Nano Poblano Oddly Specific Gratitude Blog Hop

Deborah, dear Deborah, at Notes Tied on the Sagebrush has passed forth the happy task of listing things for which I am grateful, for which I am grateful. Thank you, Deborah. Here you will find a list of gratefulness from other esteemed members of Team Pepper and my own at the bottom.

Here’s what to do:

  1. Add to the list with your own oddly specific bits of gratitude. Add as few or as many things as you’d like. Include a picture or two if you’d like… but you certainly don’t have to. Put your name at the top of the list to see where yours started and the next blogger’s begins.
  2. Tag the post with the usual pepper tags and oddly specific gratitude.
  3. Tag another pepper to add to the list by linking to their About page, but there’s a catch! When you tag the next blogger, be sure to include a bit about why you’re grateful to be in the same blogging world with them.:) (Try not to tag anyone who has already been tagged that way more people get to join in the fun.)

The List of Oddly Specific Gratitude

Nerd in the Brain:

  1. the smell of wild onions when I mow the lawn
  2. coffee makers (having the coffee already prepared in the mornings is magical)
  3. the way my crazy dog barks likes a vicious beast at the horses across the road, but then cowers behind me like a needy wimp whenever a horse actually comes close
  4. hearing my husband talk on the phone to the rest of his team at work… it reminds me that he’s not just my silly, sweet, awesome husband… he’s also my competent, responsible, highly skilled husband
  5. opening a blank lesson plan book and imagining the possibilities to come
  6. sausage balls
  7. watching Grace’s enthusiasm for all things musical
  8. the way I can hear a smile on Olivia’s face whenever we say hello or goodbye on the phone
  9. knitting with really soft, squishy yarn

Not a Punk Rocker

10. Getting a random text when Matthew is in cell-signal range. (“Hi”)

11. Awesome stuff in the mail, including Legos and letters from friends, making me smile when I need it the most at the end of a long day.

12. Cherry chapstick.

13. Somebody found my blog by searching for “deadpool talks about political social issues” yesterday.

14. Skype and chat for keeping me in touch with friends in “real-time” when one or the other of us needs it the most.

15. Finding new blogs to read and follow through this challenge!

Jackie P (tobreathistowrite)

16. Having friends like I do here in the blogging world. You all make my days brighter.

17. My dog Sam. He loves me unconditionally, wish more people could love like that. Plus, he makes me laugh daily.

18.Coffee. Without it the world would be a much sadder and thirsty place. And I would be a much harder person to deal with.

19. All the bright and cheerful colors around. Something about bright colors makes me happy. The gold of the sun, the cerulean blue of the sky, the wonder of a rainbow, they never cease to make me glad I’m alive.

20. Books…… you all know what I mean.

Fish of Gold

21. Spell check. Even though it did just strangely try to correct my horribly botched spelling of “another” to “Antoine.” I don’t even know anyone named Antoine, spell check.

22. I’m grateful to myself for being the sucker who couldn’t walk away from my dog’s cage at the animal rescue. My failure to do so has converted 70 dog pounds into a metric ton of joy and unconditional love.

23. Male’s hilariously failed attempts at sexting.

24. My sense of humor. I wouldn’t have survived this long without it.

25. To the Peppers for continuing my harebrained Nano Poblano Blog Hop Story idea and turning it into something unexpectedly awesome. Go Team Pepper

26.I also second #18.

Knocked Over by a Feather

27. My aunts Oreo truffles. They are addictive.

28. Finding my comfy spot in bed.

29. Receiving a spontaneous real hug from my daughter, which rarely happens.

30. Watching stupid TV with my husband.

31. Hearing my mom call me sweetie or something similarly saccharine sweet on the phone

Mental Mama ( Mental in the Midwest)

32. the world’s best tiny mommy

33. Evie and Sissy Cats

34. lithium, depakote, and gabapentin

35. the world’s most amazing support network

36. good dark chocolate, preferably with cherries

37. the jumbo margaritas at Romeo’s – lime, on the rocks, extra salt

Mark Bialczak

38. My dear wife Karen for buying me two season tickets for Syracuse University football six years ago, going to every game with me (but one when she went on a cruise) since and turning home game Saturdays into Happy Happy days win or lose.

39. That Ellie B aka Dogamous Pyle usually looks like this on the end of the living room couch and her specially covered ottoman daily come 10 p.m. after a day of enthusiastically ruling our Syracuse city home we call Little Bitty

Ellie B

40. That Karen talked me into going to the Paws for the Cause rescue dog event that March day four years ago when we saw Ellie marching around in her orange “Adopt Me” vest.

41.That my daughter Elisabeth was smart enough and confident enough and brave enough to go back to school this fall to get her associate’s degree and New York State certificate to become a physical therapist’s assistant, 2 1/2 years after getting her bachelor’s in biology.

42. That writing every day on markbialczak.com since Oct. 27, 2013 has turned out to be so much fun.

43.That Sheena Not a Punk Rocker talked me into hosting Nano Poblano this year, allowing me to meet so many interesting new bloggers! Wait. I want to add two more exclamation points to this one!!

Coulddoworse (Rachel or Lundygirl)

44. The park that I walk through four mornings a week

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45. Iced fingers

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46. Crochet and blogging; though never at the same time

SAM_1463

47. making something beautiful

SAM_1329

48. flowersSAM_1167

49. Hot toasted sandwiches with my family on a very rainy bank holiday.SAM_0946

50. beauty that you see in the detailSAM_0819

51. Great memories to mull over and enjoy.SAM_0116

 

Notes Tied On The Sagebrush

52. I am grateful that I was able to copy this whole list with pictures and get it pasted on to my post without messing it up at all, I hope.

53. I am grateful for my kids xoxo, and my husband xoxo

54. I am grateful to read good books, and watch good films

55. Good food, good wine and good friends

56. That I live in the state of California, USA

57. Discussions with my blogger friends and getting their support for my writing

Linda G. Hill – Life in Progress

58. That moment when I’m not aware that I’m falling asleep.

59. The one Smartie (candy-coated chocolate) that tastes slightly different than every other one in the box.

60. #18 – on this list, not the number eighteen.

61. That my children are alive.

62. Whatever it is that compels me to write; specifically to tell stories.

 

The List of Oddly Specific Bloggers

Nerd in the Brain

Not a Punk Rocker

To Breath is to Write

Fish of Gold

Knocked Over by a Feather

Mental in the Midwest

Markbialczak.com

Coulddoworse

Deborah at Notes Tied on the Sagebrush

And me, Linda

I’d like to pass this along to my darling friend Belinda at Idiot Writing. Never has there been a more humble lady of talent, from art, to writing, to give a smile, a word of wisdom and loads of support to those in need. My dear, you are one of a kind.

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Nano Poblano – Day 10: One of THOSE Days

3DThere are mornings when I float in a sea of imagination, of blessed inspiration, where the shadows are in 3D and I even take a picture of them in hopes that the lens will pick up on that which my feeble, caffeine-deprived brain sees as magical.

 

 

There are nights–normally attached to those same mornings–when music presents itself in the muddle of my sleep-deprived brain as truly the most penetrating thing on the planet. Those are the nights when the guitar solo at the end of Comfortably Numb can move me to tears.

And my muse can move me to sing.

Do you ever have one of those days?

 

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Nano Poblano – Day 9: 10 Random Whos

1. Who let the dogs out?

2. Who puts the holes in donuts?

3. Who do they put all those warnings on labels for – you know, the ones that are just common sense?

4. Who was that masked man?

5. Who are you? Who? Who? Who? Who?

6. Who goes moo when they see a cow?

7. Who was the first person to ask which came first, the chicken or the egg?

8. Who likes lima beans? I mean, seriously…

9. Who makes my day brighter? You do! Who makes yours?

10. Who has woken you up more in your life than anyone else?

 

1 Point for every question you answer – 10 points for one “who” question back at me. The winner of the funniest answer (decided by me) gets their answer posted on One-Liner Wednesday. Go!

 

These whos are brought to you by the letter M (for Mr. Mark):

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and the number 9, as in the 9th day of:

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Nano Poblano – Day 8: A Pickled Pepper

It’s so tempting to drink and blog at times. Some of my best (at least I think so at the time) ideas come to me when I’m less than my regular sober self. But like with anything we humans do after a couple of ounces of alcohol, our bravado goes up as our inhibitions go down.

One of my most memorable (to me, then again I was drunk for all of my drunk posts–there aren’t many) less-than-with-it posts was this one. The lyricist/singer in the picture is known for his liberal drinking habits, though I’m not sure this particular photo wasn’t staged. But I think that tiny post pretty much says it all. Some of the best things that have been written are by well-known drunks.

So what’s the difference between, say, Hunter S. Thompson or F. Scott Fitzgerald and your average blogger? The time it takes to publish.

I need to remember that next time my finger hovers, swaying over the mouse as the cursor rests on that lovely blue button.

So now that I sound like a total alcoholic (which I’m not), I ask all the casual drinkers out there the question: should a pepper post before it’s pickled? Or is a peck of pickled posting perfectly proper?

This post brought to you by Team Pepper:

 

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And NaBloPoMo:

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Blog Hop II – The Name Game

As if one Blog Hop wasn’t enough for members of Team Pepper, our gracious host, Mark Bialczak has given us a new challenge with another, unique Blog Hop game – The Name Game. 😀 I was nominated for this go-round by MeWhoAmI. Thank you my dear!

Here Are the Rules:

1. Write a paragraph or two about somebody from an ordinary walk of life with an unordinary name. It can either be a true story about somebody you know with that name, or a fictional piece about somebody with a name you made up.

2. After you’re done posting your story, send me an email to markbialczak@gmail.com with your Blog Hop II, your blog name and either TRUE STORY or MADE IT UP in the subject line.

3. Pick another Nano Poblano team member from the home page and tag them on their About page. Try to spread the wealth around from Fish of Gold’s original blog hop to start, but duplication is OK as the month rolls along.

4. The writing cutoff is Nov. 28. By the end of Nov. 29, email to me at markbialczak@gmail.com a list with a guess of TRUE STORY or MADE UP for each post on the blog hop. Put Blog Hop II, Final Guesses in the subject line.

5. The Nano Poblano team member with the most correct answers wins a special prize, which I will mail to them. That means you will have to email me your address if you win.

6. Add your link to the chain of writers.

7. Have fun.

My Story: Linda

When I was in my early twenties I worked for the company that distributed Minwax Wood Stains in Canada. My job started out as data entry and later on, organizing travel arrangements for our sales reps across the country. While I was there I made friends with the receptionist – her name was Maria.

We went out occasionally for drinks on a Saturday night and, during one of the outings I had the pleasure of meeting her brother, Sam. He was extremely good-looking and well built and I admit, even though I had a boyfriend at the time, what with the effects of a couple of drinks in me, I flirted with him a little. It wasn’t until I saw Maria on Monday at work that she told me what Sam did for a living.

During the day he had a job as a copy-machine repairman. She said he made decent money, but he supplemented his income with a part-time job. On Tuesday and Thursday nights he was Saddle McFleshbomb, male stripper.

Who has contributed so far?

Markbialczak

Silver Threading

The Chatter Blog

MeWhoAmI

And me Linda G. Hill

Next in line, I call on Lucy at The Excessive Gardener!

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Day 6 – Nano Poblano: My Mama Said…

Expressions. We all have them. We all use them. There are so many we all know–he’s pushing up daisies, or busy as a bee, for instance–but how about the ones you grew up with? You know,  the ones that come out of your mouth with a satisfied grin because you’ve just uttered the most perfect thing at the perfect moment EVER, yet you get a strange look because the person you’re talking to has never heard them before. So then you have to explain that what you just blurted out was something your mother, father, grandparent, or old Uncle Fred always said when blah blah blah and by the time you’ve finished going through the entire history of your fabulous phrase, its lustre has worn down to the brilliance of a twenty-year-old tractor tire.

You’ve been there before, right? So tell me, what are some of your favourite expressions that no one has ever heard before, and where did they come from?

 

This post brought to you by:

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and:

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Day 5 – Nano Poblano: Red Hot Chili Peppers

I don’t know if it’s the subconscious prodding of being part of Team Pepper, or if it’s the weather, but I had a craving yesterday for chili con carne. So while I was at the grocery store, I bought all the ingredients which are now simmering on my stove top, their mingled aromas wafting into my nostrils and teasing my growling tummy.

I don’t like cooking, as a rule, except when I’m making something that I can see coming together in stages. To me, making a pot of chili, or spaghetti sauce, or dish I call “slop” (which is basically all the veggies you’d put in spaghetti except without the tomato sauce but including chopped tomatoes, and chicken and rice with a dash or two of curry) is more like building a dinner than cooking it. To me it looks like life.

You start with the basic ingredient and it’s like a newly formed child. Add in the next, which may be language, and a sprinkling of different spices (which we all know are actually experiences) and before you know it, it’s turned into something entirely different, and yet the same.

And then you eat it! Which incidentally is where it stops being like a person… unless you’re into that… but we won’t go there, will we…?

Where was I? Oh yes, peppers. My chili is going to be hot and spicy. Just like Nano Poblano… and the people involved. Who I won’t eat.

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Day 4 – Nano Poblano: Invasion of the Teeth Eating, Six-Legged Creatures!

My pumpkin had pointy teeth.

 

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Then the ants came. It’s the same every year; the infestation begins the moment the pumpkin goes outside. I know, I know there are ways to prevent this: I just wait until the last minute to put them out.

What really amuses me is the large chunks of skin the ants manage to throw out. You can see them on the step… and if you look really close you can see all the ants. Most of them were sleeping. Pumpkin must be to an ant like turkey is to a human.

So I propose the name of a new band. Who needs the Smashing Pumpkins when you can watch the Slowly-Being-Eaten Rotting Infested Jack-O-Lanterns?

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Speaking of Masochism

Why do I set such high goals for myself? Okay yes, it feels great when I achieve them, and usually I do because I don’t like giving up on a challenge I set for myself. But the downside is that I end up getting stressed when I have too many things to do.

The latest goal of course is NaBloPoMo – write a post every day during the month of November. Together with Nano Poblano which gives me the extra challenge to make my posts spicy, I’m thinking by the end of the month my posts will be unreadable garbles of swear words. That should be fun!

Yet there’s something extra I’m contemplating to drive myself crazy reach for, and that is to extend my Scenes from the Second Seat on the Right series to 365. An entire year. I’m working on getting ahead of myself to cover the period in December when I won’t be around. They’re already scheduled a day or two in advance, so what’s two weeks? Nuthin’! My eventual goal with the series is to turn it into a calendar. I’m not sure exactly how that would work as an e-pub, but I’m sure I can figure something out. The idea came up a while ago, and I spoke to another blogger about possibly animating it, but that sorta fizzled out into nothing. So far. I should re-visit the idea and see if there’s any interest, though the 365th episode is still 300 away from being completed.

Any thoughts? Anyone who’s reading it think it might be a good idea? Click here for a link to one of the scenes that stands alone (meaning it has no back-story nor any follow-up so far) if you’ve never read one. You may just be amused.


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Random-after-a-glass-of-wine-type-Team-Pepper-post

Well this should be interesting.

First off, what the hell is going on with WordPress today? I woke up and this blog’s “best ever” day has gone up by nine views, and my fiction blog’s has gone down by four. Has this happened to anyone else or are they just screwing with me?

Second, I really am going to finish replying to all my comments soon. Tomorrow, if all goes well. But when does it ever? Can anyone answer me this question?

Third, I need another glass of wine.

Fourth, … oh yeah! Another WTF WordPress. I scheduled my 63rd Scenes from the Second Seat on the Right post for 11am this morning but it went live at 10. Did WordPress not get the memo that the time changed last night? Was it only Canada that changed? I’m confuddled.

Fifth, what do I do with all these Hallowe’en candies?

Sixth, if anyone can answer the above questions to my satisfaction and (as always) with humour, you get a point. Extra points if you send me a bottle of wine.

Go!