Life in progress


21 Comments

Just Jot It Jan 19 – Rubbish?

I always used to think it was a myth — rubbish — that someone’s hair could turn grey overnight. But guess what? I looked in the mirror this afternoon and I’m almost positive my hair is greyer than it was yesterday. Or even this morning. Either everything has caught up with me, finally, or there’s something in my Pantene 2 in 1.

Don’t you just love the word “rubbish,” though? It sounds so much better when you call something inaccurate or that you don’t agree with rubbish rather than garbage. The English have such lovely curse words. It’s not even a curse… I looked in the online thesaurus to see what else I could call it and came up with some interesting words. “Whammy”? “Obloquy”? “Naughty words”? Oh, here we go, “expletive.”

Let’s go back to obloquy. Look that up and I get… “animadversion.” I HAVE to look that up. And it means… “blame.”

I blame the bloody rubbish!

Now that was satisfying.

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Thanks very much to Wendy for today’s prompt, “rubbish.” Please visit her post for today and say hi! You can find it here: https://waffle-with-wendy.blogspot.ca/2017/01/jusjojan-day-19-rubbish.html

And don’t forget, even if you haven’t been participating in Just Jot It January up ’til now, it’s not too late to start! Click here for details and to read the other amazing posts: https://lindaghill.com/2017/01/19/jusjojan-daily-prompt-jan-19th17/

 


46 Comments

#JusJoJan Daily Prompt – Jan. 19th/17

Hi there, and welcome to your daily Just Jot It January prompt. Linda here, coming off yet another freezing-rain day with no school for the young ‘un. If there’s no rest for the wicked, I must be a bad, bad, girl. I’m positive tomorrow’s going to be a regular school day. Positive! If not, I’m sure you’ll hear about it.

Anyway, without further ado, here’s your prompt for today:

The Just Jot It January 19th prompt, brought to you by Wendy of Wendy’s Waffle, is: “Rubbish.” Use it any way you’re inspired to. And make sure you stop by and say hi to Wendy as well! Here’s her blog: https://waffle-with-wendy.blogspot.ca/

jjj-2017

The rules for Just Jot It January are as follows:

1. 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. The prompts will be posted every day at 2am my time (GMT -5). You don’t have to follow the prompt word, but this will be where you leave your link for others to see. Make sure you link your post to the correct day’s prompt. There will be a post like this every day except Wednesday, when the prompt is simply my One-Liner Wednesday, and Saturday, when you’ll find the prompt on my usual Friday Reminder post for Stream of Consciousness Saturday (SoCS).

3. As long as your blog is on WordPress, you’ll be able to link via pingback. To execute a pingback, 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! If you’re participating from another blogging host, just drop a link into the comment section. Note: The newest pingbacks and comments will be at the top.

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. The prompts are here both to remind you and to inspire you to write. However, you don’t have to use the prompt word of the day. You can link any kind of jot back here. Even your shopping list. Note: If it’s 18+ content, please say so in a comment with your link.

7. If you’d like to, use the JusJoJan badge (above) in your post so that others can find your post more easily.

8. Have fun!

If you’d like to look ahead to see the upcoming prompt words, click this link: https://lindaghill.com/2016/12/31/just-jot-it-january-2017-rules/ You can always write your post ahead of time and schedule it to come out on the appropriate day.


45 Comments

One-Liner Wednesday & #JusJoJan 18/17 Prompt – For Fun

Do you have this problem?

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I’m trying to give up sexual innuendos… but it’s hard… so hard.

NOTE: If you participate in this prompt, you do not have to follow in this week’s potentially sticky theme.

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The rules for Just Jot It January are as follows:

1. 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. The prompts will be posted every day at 2am my time (GMT -5). You don’t have to follow the prompt word, but this will be where you leave your link for others to see. Make sure you link your post to the correct day’s prompt. There will be a post like this every day except Wednesday, when the prompt is simply my One-Liner Wednesday, and Saturday, when you’ll find the prompt on my usual Friday Reminder post for Stream of Consciousness Saturday (SoCS).

2a. Since today is Wednesday, I challenge you to make your JusJoJan post a one-liner. If you don’t care to, or if you’ve already written your post, no problem. Remember, with One-Liner Wednesday you can write anything – it’s only a prompt to write one line, not necessarily to keep to the same theme as mine. The rules that I’ve made for myself (but don’t always follow) for “One-Liner Wednesday” are:

(i) Make it one sentence.

(ii) Make it either funny or inspirational.

(iii) Use our unique tag #1linerWeds.

(iv) Have fun!

(v) Use our One-Liner Wednesday badge!

#1linerWeds badge by nearlywes.com

#1linerWeds badge by nearlywes.com

3. As long as your blog is on WordPress, you’ll be able to link via pingback. To execute a pingback, 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! If you’re participating from another blogging host, just drop a link into the comment section. Note: The newest pingbacks and comments will be at the top.

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. The prompts are here both to remind you and to inspire you to write. However, you don’t have to use the prompt word of the day. You can link any kind of jot back here. Even your shopping list. Note: If it’s 18+ content, please say so in a comment with your link.

7. If you’d like to, use the JusJoJan badge (above) in your post so that others can find your post more easily.

8. Have fun!

If you’d like to look ahead to see the upcoming prompt words, click this link: https://lindaghill.com/2016/12/31/just-jot-it-january-2017-rules/ You can always write your post ahead of time and schedule it to come out on the appropriate day.

jjj-2017


23 Comments

Just Jot It Jan 17 – Complaint

Let’s see, what haven’t I complained about this year yet?

We had a snow day again today–actually, it was a freezing rain day–but I’ve already complained about those. Seems like a Tuesday thing.

Alex was so upset about not going to school today, he came into my room this morning and started smacking me because of the weather. Then, fifteen minutes later, I picked up the cat to stop him from going outside and he turned around and scratched me. And to top all that off, I was sitting on the couch about fifteen minutes after that, and I sneezed on the dog whilst reaching for the tissue box, so the dog pounced on me because I made him jump.

It’s been a rough day. But not my first this year. I’m sure I must have complained about one of those already, so I can’t do that again.

What else, let’s see… I didn’t go out today. I need to get out more. …aaand I’ve already complained about that.

Next!

I haven’t run out of wine yet, so I can’t complain about that. Oh, wait! I ran out of coffee!!! …but I found some more in the cupboard that I must have bought when it was on sale.

Nope! Sorry. Can’t think of anything new. I guess I’m going to just have to be happy, damn it!

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Thanks very much to our very own Willow for today’s prompt, “complaint.” You can visit Willow and read her own JusJoJan post here: https://willowdot21.wordpress.com/2017/01/17/just-jot-it-jauaryday-17-complaint/

And a very special thanks once again to Shan for hosting Just Jot It January for me! Let’s all give her a round of applause!! And make sure you visit and follow her at her blog here, where you’ll find her latest JusJoJan post: http://shanjeniahslovelychaos.com/lovely-chaos-blog/2017/1/16/i-am-penetrable-mindfulmonday-and-jusjojan-day-16-shanjeniahs-lovely-chaos

Don’t forget to check out all the other posts here, and see how you can join in too! https://lindaghill.com/2017/01/17/jusjojan-daily-prompt-jan-17th17/

 

 


29 Comments

#JusJoJan Daily Prompt – Jan. 17th/17

Hi there! It’s Shan Jeniah https://shanjeniah.com/about/, back for my third and final day as your guest host for Just Jot It January.  Hard to believe it’s already Monday night, and I’m scheduling this final post – that went fast!

I’ll have more to say about the experience tomorrow, but I hope you all enjoyed this even half as much as I did. That said, here’s your prompt for today:

The Just Jot It January 17th prompt, brought to you by  Willow, blogging at Willowdot21 is: “Complaint.” Use it any way you’re inspired to. And make sure you stop by and say hi to Willow as well! Here’s her blog:

https://willowdot21.wordpress.com/

jjj-2017

The rules for Just Jot It January are as follows:

1. 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. The prompts will be posted every day at 2am my time (GMT -5). You don’t have to follow the prompt word, but this will be where you leave your link for others to see. Make sure you link your post to the correct day’s prompt. There will be a post like this every day except Wednesday, when the prompt is simply my One-Liner Wednesday, and Saturday, when you’ll find the prompt on my usual Friday Reminder post for Stream of Consciousness Saturday (SoCS).

3. As long as your blog is on WordPress, you’ll be able to link via pingback. To execute a pingback, 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! If you’re participating from another blogging host, just drop a link into the comment section. Note: The newest pingbacks and comments will be at the top.

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. The prompts are here both to remind you and to inspire you to write. However, you don’t have to use the prompt word of the day. You can link any kind of jot back here. Even your shopping list. Note: If it’s 18+ content, please say so in a comment with your link.

7. If you’d like to, use the JusJoJan badge (above) in your post so that others can find your post more easily.

8. Have fun!

If you’d like to look ahead to see the upcoming prompt words, click this link: https://lindaghill.com/2016/12/31/just-jot-it-january-2017-rules/ You can always write your post ahead of time and schedule it to come out on the appropriate day.


22 Comments

Just Jot It Jan 16 – Impenetrable

So much for taking time today to get caught up on blogging; this full-time work thing is crazy, isn’t it? I haven’t had a “real” job in sixteen years, and even then, I was running my own business. The last time I worked for someone who wasn’t me was in 1995. I think.

Even though I haven’t “worked” in more than 20 years, I have worked. My kids were born in ’94, ’95, and ’00 – one might argue that just being a mom is work. But past that, I push myself to do more. Writing, blogging, and taking courses to improve my skills have kept me on my toes for quite a few years now.

What about me is impenetrable? Probably my hard-headedness when it comes to saying anything but, Sure! I can do it! Just pile it all on. My head is as hard as my plate is large. And nothing is going slow me down… until they both overflow that is. So if you see my brains leaking out of my ears, you’ll know I’ve reached my penetration limit.

At the rate I’m going, it won’t be long.

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Thanks to Blog Woman!!! for our prompt of the day, “impenetrable.” You can find her here: https://blog-woman.com/

And a special thank you to Shan, for the wonderful job she’s doing as host. Let’s hear it for Shan! 😀 https://shanjeniah.com/about/

It’s not too late to join in Just Jot It January. Click the following link to participate and read more amazing posts: https://lindaghill.com/2017/01/16/jusjojan-daily-prompt-jan-16th17/


26 Comments

#JusJoJan Daily Prompt – Jan. 16th/17

Hey there! Shan Jeniah https://shanjeniah.com/about/  again, back for the Day Two  of guest-hosting Just Jot It January. It seems we all survived my first day, so let’s just dive right into today’s prompt before I decide to go into how nervous I was, and how silly that is, and…

Right. You’re here for a prompt, not a story. * ahem *. <shuffles imaginary papers>. Ah, here we go…your prompt for today:

The Just Jot It January 16th prompt, brought to you by Blog Woman!!! of Blog Woman!!! -Life, Uncategorized, is: “Impenetrable.” Use it any way you like. And make sure you stop by and say hi to Blog Woman!!!, as well! Here’s her blog: https://blog-woman.com/.

jjj-2017

The rules for Just Jot It January are as follows:

1. 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. The prompts will be posted every day at 2am my time (GMT -5). You don’t have to follow the prompt word, but this will be where you leave your link for others to see. Make sure you link your post to the correct day’s prompt. There will be a post like this every day except Wednesday, when the prompt is simply my One-Liner Wednesday, and Saturday, when you’ll find the prompt on my usual Friday Reminder post for Stream of Consciousness Saturday (SoCS).

3. As long as your blog is on WordPress, you’ll be able to link via pingback. To execute a pingback, 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! If you’re participating from another blogging host, just drop a link into the comment section. Note: The newest pingbacks and comments will be at the top.

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. The prompts are here both to remind you and to inspire you to write. However, you don’t have to use the prompt word of the day. You can link any kind of jot back here. Even your shopping list. Note: If it’s 18+ content, please say so in a comment with your link.

7. If you’d like to, use the JusJoJan badge (above) in your post so that others can find your post more easily.

8. Have fun!

If you’d like to look ahead to see the upcoming prompt words, click this link: https://lindaghill.com/2016/12/31/just-jot-it-january-2017-rules/ You can always write your post ahead of time and schedule it to come out on the appropriate day.


18 Comments

Just Jot It Jan 15 – Mercy

Hey! I almost didn’t make it here today. I’ve been working on this project I landed last week, editing a 150,000-word novel by the end of February, which means I have to get through 25K words a week. I’m absolutely loving the work, but mercy, does it necessitate a lot of concentration on the screen! I have to keep taking eyeball breaks.

This post is going to be very short, and it may not be sweet, but I should be back tomorrow to get caught up with everything I missed over the weekend.

Hope all is well out there in blogland!

jjj-2017

The prompt for today was gifted to us by BarbCT! Check out her blog here! https://barbct.wordpress.com/

And a special thanks to Shan for hosting today’s prompt. You can follow Shan’s blog here: https://shanjeniah.com/about/

And finally, to join in today’s prompt, click here: https://lindaghill.com/2017/01/15/jusjojan-daily-prompt-jan-15th17/


26 Comments

#JusJoJan Daily Prompt – Jan. 15th/17

Hey there! I’m Shan Jeniah from shanjeniah’s Lovely Chaos https://shanjeniah.com/about/!

Linda’s taking a much-deserved breather for the next three days, so I’m stepping in to deliver your prompts. I’ll have a guest post up tomorrow, and I’ll talk more about myself then. For now, I’ll keep it short and sweet, so that we can get right to business.

Here’s your prompt for today:

The Just Jot It January 15th prompt, brought to you by BarbCT of Gallimaufry,  is “Mercy.”  Use it any way you’re inspired to. And make sure you stop by and say hi to BarbCT as well! Here’s her blog: https://barbct.wordpress.com/.

 

The rules for Just Jot It January are as follows:

1. 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. The prompts will be posted every day at 2am my time (GMT -5). You don’t have to follow the prompt word, but this will be where you leave your link for others to see. Make sure you link your post to the correct day’s prompt. There will be a post like this every day except Wednesday, when the prompt is simply my One-Liner Wednesday, and Saturday, when you’ll find the prompt on my usual Friday Reminder post for Stream of Consciousness Saturday (SoCS).

3. As long as your blog is on WordPress, you’ll be able to link via pingback. To execute a pingback, 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! If you’re participating from another blogging host, just drop a link into the comment section. Note: The newest pingbacks and comments will be at the top.

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. The prompts are here both to remind you and to inspire you to write. However, you don’t have to use the prompt word of the day. You can link any kind of jot back here. Even your shopping list. Note: If it’s 18+ content, please say so in a comment with your link.

7. If you’d like to, use the JusJoJan badge (above) in your post so that others can find your post more easily.

8. Have fun!

If you’d like to look ahead to see the upcoming prompt words, click this link: https://lindaghill.com/2016/12/31/just-jot-it-january-2017-rules/ You can always write your post ahead of time and schedule it to come out on the appropriate day.


29 Comments

#SoCS, Just Jot It Jan 14 – People

People are funny. Particularly around authors. Most will give you a blank stare if you tell them you’re a writer… I wonder often if they’re just thinking, “what do I say now? And will it end up in a book?” This is why I don’t tell people I’m a writer unless they ask.

But there was one day, a couple of months ago, when I was sitting by the water on my favourite waterfront trail and a woman came along and started talking to me. She told me she was there to write her novel… as if she expected me to be flabbergasted that I was talking to a real writer. We ended up chatting about Amazon and Createspace for the following half an hour, though she couldn’t help herself from occasionally giving me the odd advice on how to write, edit, and publish. No matter how many times I said, “yeah, I know.”

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Fast forward to a few weeks ago when I was sitting in a restaurant, minding my own business, proofreading my own manuscript. It’s printed out in a spiral-bound book and I’ve been working through it with a red pen. The waitress stopped to give me my tea, as waitresses do, and she asked me if I’m a teacher. I said no, I’m a writer. She reacted the way the lady down on the waterfront expected me to.

“You’re writing a book? What kind? Can we buy it at the bookstore? Do you have a card or anything?”

*makes note to get cards or bookmarks printed*

Needless to say I got better-than-average service that evening.

I keep having to remind myself that though many people think they can write a book, not everyone actually does it. I’m surrounded here on WordPress by so many talented people, so many authors and people who know authors, that it has become normal for me. And yet I remember the first time my blog was followed by a “real author” and I was flabbergasted, even though I had already written three novels myself. Because he was published, and I wasn’t.

I love people. People are who populate my novels. I write novels about people, not about events. I don’t write plots – I write about things that happen to people and how those people react, and that builds my plots.

I really need to write more.

Potato.

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This post is brought to you by Stream of Consciousness Saturday and Just Jot It January. The prompt for this week is the letter “p,” with the challenge to start and end the post with a “P” word… thus the potato. Click the following link to join in and read all the other awesome posts! https://lindaghill.com/2017/01/13/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-and-jusjojan-jan-1417/