Our blog project group has once again changed by one member, but I'm still calling it Blog Project 3.0. The newest member is Darwin Shrugged, a friend of Froggie's. I recently got to know her better through "52 Stories" and I look forward to what she has to say on the upcoming topics.
This week Moma Rock chose the topic: What is something (or more than one thing) you've done or tried (been there, done that) that you will never do again?
First, read what everyone else had to share on this topic:
Darwin Shrugged
Froggie
Moma Rock
I definitely couldn't narrow my list down to one thing, so I'm glad we had the option to list more. Here's my list, in no particular order.
Go to school: There was a time when I entertained the idea of going to grad school. That was before kids came into the picture. I've since lost the motivation to sit and learn anything and the idea of standardized tests to get into school is beyond scary at this point.
Spend New Year's Eve in Times Square: I did it once, a long time ago, and have no desire to do so ever again. It's freezing, noisy, crowded, and you wait for several hours for something to happen. You don't get to see any celebrities and the ball looks like a tiny speck from down on the ground. Then you're fighting crowds while covered in chunks of confetti, just to get out of the city afterward. It's not as organized as Disney World's exit strategy. I'm happy to watch from the comfort of my couch, thank you very much! I have had some other memorable NYE celebrations, but the best times have been spent with close friends.
Ride a roller coaster: It's not out of fear as much as nausea. My body is no longer equipped for fast rides that go all over the place.
Go to "Rocky Horror": Just like I'm no longer Magenta, I also can't rationalize staying up at a theater listening to people half my age yelling the lines I used to have memorized back in the day. Even in my 20s, I found myself falling asleep halfway through the movie. I'll always have my memories...
Ride an ATV in desert (even if I'm not the one controlling it): As to not have to rehash this tale, see this post from a few years ago.
Get eye surgery: Unless it's a matter of saving my eyes (like for cataracts or glaucoma), I'm not doing elective eye surgery ever again. I had LASIK back in 1999. I love being able to see 20/20, but I also get dry eyes often and I think I'd rather get wisdom teeth pulled then go through the feeling of someone touching my eyes and having them hurt worse than the time my daughter scratched one of them last year. So if it's a matter of simple vision correction, I don't mind reverting back to glasses at this point. The surgery has more than paid for itself thus far.
Watch Frozen: I know I'm in the minority and that the songs are constantly stuck in my head, but I don't see myself sitting through the entire movie again. I still don't see what the big deal is with it.
Set foot inside an IHOP: I know it's not Kosher anyway, but my boycott has gone on for almost 18 years now. It was THAT bad to be a server there.
Thursday, May 22, 2014
Friday, May 16, 2014
Book Review: The Birth House
The Birth House is the story of Dora Rare, the first daughter to be born in five generations of the Rare family. As a child in an isolated village in Nova Scotia, she is drawn to Miss Babineau, an outspoken Acadian midwife with a gift for healing and a kitchen filled with herbs and folk remedies. During the turbulent years of World War I, Dora becomes the midwife's apprentice. Together, they help the women of Scots Bay through infertility, difficult labors, breech births, unwanted pregnancies and even unfulfilling sex lives.
When Gilbert Thomas, a brash medical doctor, comes to Scots Bay with promises of fast, painless childbirth, some of the women begin to question Miss Babineau's methods - and after Miss Babineau's death, Dora is left to carry on alone. In the face of fierce opposition, she must summon all of her strength to protect the birthing traditions and wisdom that have been passed down to her.
Filled with details that are as compelling as they are surprising-childbirth in the aftermath of the Halifax Explosion, the prescribing of vibratory treatments to cure hysteria and a mysterious elixir called Beaver Brew- The Birth House is an unforgettable tale of the struggles women have faced to maintain control over their own bodies and to keep the best parts of tradition alive in the world of modern medicine.(Synopsis courtesy of Goodreads.)
I can definitely attest to this novel as being compelling. It was hard to put down and stuck with me even when I wasn't reading it. I was all worried for the characters and wondering what would happen next. Dora really gets put through a lot in the span of three years. Her best friend dies (which is not a spoiler since it says so in the summary), she marries a total jerk, the new doctor starts messing with her head, some people turn against her, etc. She manages to hold her own throughout the story and comes out stronger overall. She's really only a kid too. I was getting ready for college when I was her age and she's being trained to catch babies and administer holistic medical treatments. She does have a small support system, and I loved all the women who looked after and cared about her. Some aspects of the story reminded me of how people treated Belle from Disney's Beauty and the Beast. Both Dora and Belle love to read, are looked upon as strange, have men in their lives who try to control them (I'm not talking about the Beast here), etc. Also the way the townsfolk become an angry mob to attack the Beast is similar to how people act toward Dora and Miss B when they try to help various women.
Ami McKay is great with her use of description without it being overwhelming and she gives a strong feel for the time period, which made me feel like it was non-fiction. I love how she uses advertisements from that time period and how they fit in so well with the story. It reminded me of when I'd go to Wendy's as a kid and they'd have these old-time newspaper articles and advertisements as the artwork on the tables. I'm not as familiar with the events of World War I, but Ami kept that side of the story interesting instead of being just dry facts. She tied the events of the story into what was happening with the war.
There are a LOT of characters in this story and it's sometimes hard to keep names and information straight. I had to go back to earlier chapters to remember who was who sometimes. There was even an age slip-up for one of the characters that never got caught before going to print. I also would not recommend reading this book in public unless you're prepared to heavily blush, as some parts were a bit raunchy. I didn't blush the same way I would for a steamy romantic novel. No, this was on the darker side of the scale, to the point of making me uncomfortable. One aspect even made me think of a situation from Sex and the City.
I remember that when I was reading Call the Midwife, I was thinking how times are so different now and how much more advantageous we are to have choices about where and how we give birth. While I chose to go the obstetrics route, I know others who have chosen to have home births with midwives at hand. Everyone is different and I don't judge people for how they want to have their babies any more than they should judge me. As long as the baby is born safely and their well-being is seen to after their birth, why should it matter where they were born? What was definitely concerning in this novel, and still comes out in other ways nowadays, is how men think they have governance over women's bodies. That's a whole other can of worms to open though and my review is not meant to spark debate. There's only one question I have that went unanswered: What is tea with mitts? I couldn't find anything about it in the "Willow Book" glossary at the back of the book.
The Birth House has given me a reason to be less judgmental over other books that might not be of interest to me at first. I have already been recommending it to others and will continue to do so!
I had a few casting ideas in mind for a movie version (surprise, surprise...)
Dora: Stephanie Hunt (I recently saw her on an episode of Glee and then immediately pictured her in this role.)
Archer: Colin Farrell
Hart: Joe Manganiello
Dr. Thomas: Dean Chekvala
Miss B: Loretta Devine
Maxine: Paula Patton
Precious: AnnaSophia Robb
Disclosure of Material Connection:
Some of the links in this post are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."
Thursday, May 15, 2014
No rhyme or reason
Our blog project group has once again changed by one member, but I'm still calling it Blog Project 3.0. The newest member is Darwin Shrugged, a friend of Froggie's. I recently got to know her better through "52 Stories" and I look forward to what she has to say on the upcoming topics.
This week Darwin Shrugged chose the topic: Do you believe everything happens for a reason?
First, read what everyone else had to share on this topic:
Darwin Shrugged
Froggie
Moma Rock
There are a couple of concepts in Judaism that I wanted to bring up. The first is saying "B'shaah Tovah" to someone who is pregnant. Then again, I'd say it to myself for all my pregnancies. It means "all in good time" and it's a way of not jinxing the pregnancy. This goes along with the other concept, which is "besherte." It means "meant to be." If it's supposed to happen, it will. I attribute my relationship with my husband to besherte. I also consider other situations in life to be an act of besherte, such as helping my husband find some long lost cousins and having them become best friends with my parents as a result. Or the timing of how some of my friendships came about.
If you think about it, everything really comes down to fate. Being in the right place at the right time. Saying the right thing to the right person. Either you luck out or you don't. There was an episode of How I Met Your Mother (yes, I still reference this show even though I'm not over the series finale yet) where Ted was using a set of circumstances to tie to how he met the mother. However, he didn't actually meet the mother in that episode, but instead the events of the day put him in the right place at the right time so he could get closure from a past relationship. I resented the teaser that came out of that episode and didn't really know how it led to him meeting the mother, but I guess having the closure allowed him to move on. Maybe he wouldn't have been in a place to meet the mother six years later if he didn't have it? Having said that, in the second to last season, there's an episode where he runs into another girl he dated and she tells him that her roommate (whom is implied to be the mother) is in a band and they book her to play at the wedding in the final season. So that's an act of fate in itself. The couple that was getting married had intended to get a DJ but then they couldn't pass up the opportunity to get the band, once it was offered. If they hadn't, Ted may have never met the mother.
This all leads me to think about time travel movies where if you change one circumstance, everything else changes as a result. Like when Marty McFly almost kept his parents from dating in Back to the Future, he saw the possibility of his existence being wiped away. Or how in The Butterfly Effect, Ashton Kutcher's character kept going back to certain situations and changing one aspect, thus affecting the entire course of his life after that point. The title of the movie is related to a time travel story where someone goes back to the time of the dinosaurs and steps on a butterfly, thus altering everything else from that point forward. Yes, just from stepping on a butterfly. I forgot the title of that story, but I think it was also made into a movie at some point. In any case, the Ashton Kutcher movie is really intense, but also thought provoking. I found myself crying at the end. Until someone invents an actual time machine that really works, I think we're safe from any literal or metaphorical butterfly effects.
There's also the concept of why bad things happen to good people. I know there's even a book about it. If everything happened for a reason, how does that explain the horrible things that can happen to people over the course of their lives? What reason would there be for wiping out populations or for innocent children to suffer? I was recently reading an article about one of the Cleveland kidnapping victims. It was awful to hear what she went through and I was impressed that she held out enough hope to keep herself going even in the worst moments. What reason is there for her, or even the other two victims, to have been in that situation? I dare someone to come up with one.
Having said all this, my answer to Darwin Shrugged's question is a resounding NO.
This week Darwin Shrugged chose the topic: Do you believe everything happens for a reason?
First, read what everyone else had to share on this topic:
Darwin Shrugged
Froggie
Moma Rock
There are a couple of concepts in Judaism that I wanted to bring up. The first is saying "B'shaah Tovah" to someone who is pregnant. Then again, I'd say it to myself for all my pregnancies. It means "all in good time" and it's a way of not jinxing the pregnancy. This goes along with the other concept, which is "besherte." It means "meant to be." If it's supposed to happen, it will. I attribute my relationship with my husband to besherte. I also consider other situations in life to be an act of besherte, such as helping my husband find some long lost cousins and having them become best friends with my parents as a result. Or the timing of how some of my friendships came about.
If you think about it, everything really comes down to fate. Being in the right place at the right time. Saying the right thing to the right person. Either you luck out or you don't. There was an episode of How I Met Your Mother (yes, I still reference this show even though I'm not over the series finale yet) where Ted was using a set of circumstances to tie to how he met the mother. However, he didn't actually meet the mother in that episode, but instead the events of the day put him in the right place at the right time so he could get closure from a past relationship. I resented the teaser that came out of that episode and didn't really know how it led to him meeting the mother, but I guess having the closure allowed him to move on. Maybe he wouldn't have been in a place to meet the mother six years later if he didn't have it? Having said that, in the second to last season, there's an episode where he runs into another girl he dated and she tells him that her roommate (whom is implied to be the mother) is in a band and they book her to play at the wedding in the final season. So that's an act of fate in itself. The couple that was getting married had intended to get a DJ but then they couldn't pass up the opportunity to get the band, once it was offered. If they hadn't, Ted may have never met the mother.
This all leads me to think about time travel movies where if you change one circumstance, everything else changes as a result. Like when Marty McFly almost kept his parents from dating in Back to the Future, he saw the possibility of his existence being wiped away. Or how in The Butterfly Effect, Ashton Kutcher's character kept going back to certain situations and changing one aspect, thus affecting the entire course of his life after that point. The title of the movie is related to a time travel story where someone goes back to the time of the dinosaurs and steps on a butterfly, thus altering everything else from that point forward. Yes, just from stepping on a butterfly. I forgot the title of that story, but I think it was also made into a movie at some point. In any case, the Ashton Kutcher movie is really intense, but also thought provoking. I found myself crying at the end. Until someone invents an actual time machine that really works, I think we're safe from any literal or metaphorical butterfly effects.
There's also the concept of why bad things happen to good people. I know there's even a book about it. If everything happened for a reason, how does that explain the horrible things that can happen to people over the course of their lives? What reason would there be for wiping out populations or for innocent children to suffer? I was recently reading an article about one of the Cleveland kidnapping victims. It was awful to hear what she went through and I was impressed that she held out enough hope to keep herself going even in the worst moments. What reason is there for her, or even the other two victims, to have been in that situation? I dare someone to come up with one.
Having said all this, my answer to Darwin Shrugged's question is a resounding NO.
Friday, May 9, 2014
Isn't it Romantic?
I'm still floating on a natural high from the season finale of The Mindy Project, which has to be one of the most romantic episodes of a TV show, at least in my book! I also recently read some chick lit novels related to rom-coms and chick flicks: What Nora Knew by Linda Yellin and Love Like the Movies by Victoria Van Tiem. I also read an article about how The Fault in Our Stars is expected to be the most romantic movie of 2014. In lieu of this, I want to share about some of my favorite romantic movies, as well as some of my favorite on-screen kisses.
Favorite Romantic Movies (most don't need any explanation):
While You Were Sleeping
The Notebook
Where the Heart is (The one with Natalie Portman and Ashley Judd)
My Big Fat Greek Wedding
50 First Dates
Dirty Dancing
The Princess Bride
Titanic
Like Water for Chocolate
Life is Beautiful (I know it is about the Holocaust, but before that part happens, Guido says the most romantic thing to Dora. I love how he goes about pursuing her and even how he tries to communicate with her at the concentration camp.)
Sleepless in Seattle
When Harry Met Sally
The Wedding Singer
One Fine Day (This little gem starring George Clooney and Michelle Pfeiffer seemed to slip through the cracks, but it was a sweet story.)
Beauty and the Beast (especially when the Beast gives Belle his library...)
Love Actually (Some people have argued that it's not really that romantic, but Jamie's story takes the cake. I also love Sam's story line and the part with the Prime Minister is sweet too.)
Favorite Kisses:
The Mindy Project: The one on the airplane and the one on the season finale. Both are impossible to forget!
Clueless: On the stairs, when Cher gets interrupted with the kiss. I always cry when that happens!
50 First Dates: Right before Henry and Lucy part ways. So sad, but so heartfelt too. If Adam Sandler kissed me that way, I'd forget what I wanted to forget about.
Never Been Kissed: The kiss Josie has been waiting for...
Ten Things I Hate About You: At the paintball field
How I Met Your Mother: When Lily finally gets Marshall back after returning from her art sabbatical in California (after trying to scare off the girl with crazy eyes).
Friends: The one with the prom video
The Princess Bride: "Since the invention of the kiss there have been five kisses that were rated the most passionate, the most pure. This one left them all behind."
Aladdin: When the carpet pushes Aladdin up to kiss Jasmine.
Chasing Amy: After the whole love profession and fight, when they're outside in the rain.
That Thing You Do: Talk about being honestly kissed....
Favorite Romantic Movies (most don't need any explanation):
While You Were Sleeping
The Notebook
Where the Heart is (The one with Natalie Portman and Ashley Judd)
My Big Fat Greek Wedding
50 First Dates
Dirty Dancing
The Princess Bride
Titanic
Like Water for Chocolate
Life is Beautiful (I know it is about the Holocaust, but before that part happens, Guido says the most romantic thing to Dora. I love how he goes about pursuing her and even how he tries to communicate with her at the concentration camp.)
Sleepless in Seattle
When Harry Met Sally
The Wedding Singer
One Fine Day (This little gem starring George Clooney and Michelle Pfeiffer seemed to slip through the cracks, but it was a sweet story.)
Beauty and the Beast (especially when the Beast gives Belle his library...)
Love Actually (Some people have argued that it's not really that romantic, but Jamie's story takes the cake. I also love Sam's story line and the part with the Prime Minister is sweet too.)
Favorite Kisses:
The Mindy Project: The one on the airplane and the one on the season finale. Both are impossible to forget!
Clueless: On the stairs, when Cher gets interrupted with the kiss. I always cry when that happens!
50 First Dates: Right before Henry and Lucy part ways. So sad, but so heartfelt too. If Adam Sandler kissed me that way, I'd forget what I wanted to forget about.
Never Been Kissed: The kiss Josie has been waiting for...
Ten Things I Hate About You: At the paintball field
How I Met Your Mother: When Lily finally gets Marshall back after returning from her art sabbatical in California (after trying to scare off the girl with crazy eyes).
Friends: The one with the prom video
The Princess Bride: "Since the invention of the kiss there have been five kisses that were rated the most passionate, the most pure. This one left them all behind."
Aladdin: When the carpet pushes Aladdin up to kiss Jasmine.
Chasing Amy: After the whole love profession and fight, when they're outside in the rain.
That Thing You Do: Talk about being honestly kissed....
Thursday, May 8, 2014
I blog, therefore I am
Our blog project group has once again changed by one member, but I'm still calling it Blog Project 3.0. The newest member is Darwin Shrugged, a friend of Froggie's. I recently got to know her better through "52 Stories" and I look forward to what she has to say on the upcoming topics.
This week Froggie chose the topic: The essence of you. Write something captures the essence of who you are as a person.
First, read what everyone else had to share on this topic:
Darwin Shrugged
Froggie
Moma Rock
The other day, at work, we were given an activity to do for an inter-office contest. We're supposed to find something we're passionate about in relation to the organization and make a picture of it to put in a special frame they gave us. While what I plan to do for that activity has nothing to do with this post, I was able to relate the two topics initially. Isn't your essence something you're passionate about? I see it that way. In any case, the more I thought about it, the more I knew that writing is what captures my essence.
I've always enjoyed creative writing. Even in elementary school, I enjoyed making up stories. They were probably silly and made no sense at the time, but I had fun, nonetheless. I hated when someone tried to curb my creativity by asking for details. I remember when we had to make up characters for our language arts class. I first created an angel and was told that I had to create a real person. That totally annoyed me because characters should be able to come in any shape or form.
When I started high school, I had to write something based on my summer reading assignment of Tom Sawyer. I didn't like the book all that much, but decided to have fun with it anyway. My English teacher liked it so much that he gave my name to the head of the Forensics (speech) team. From there, I tried my hand at original comedy. Even though my piece didn't do all that well, I had fun putting it together and my English teacher thought I was funny, at least. I also used my creative writing skills in theater classes and for directing class. They later came in handy for when I took improv comedy classes at Comedy Sportz in my mid-20s.
Senior year, I took a creative writing class. It was one of my favorite classes that year. I had so much fun putting together different stories, poems, plays, etc. My teacher even submitted some of my work to contests and entered my play into the literary magazine. Some peers in my directing class even chose my play for their end-of-year directing project. I received more compliments on the play I wrote than the play I directed (that someone else wrote). That was definitely flattering.
In college, I didn't get to explore much on a creative level. I wrote some papers and got away with not knowing what I was talking about, simply by the way I wrote them. One of the papers I had fun working on was comparing Seinfeld to Pulp Fiction. In the meantime, I always had story ideas going through my head but never wrote them down.
Fast forward to 2009, when I started this blog. I had done some blogging in the past, but most of it was venting and dissecting episodes of Desperate Housewives. In 2010, I found this website that had a fiction writing challenge every Friday. I started doing that from time to time and really enjoyed what I came up with. I could tell that other readers liked my writing too, and they didn't even have a reason to be bias! I was also doing book reviews for Chick Lit Central and put a lot of thought into them. I had also started the first blog project group in 2010, which lasted for a little while before fizzling out. When my daughter was born, I curbed the fiction writing for a while. In the meantime, Blog Project 2.0 had started up and I liked the challenging new topics everyone presented. I really like writing my thoughts out on personal topics, as well as pop culture, news stories, ethical dilemmas, etc. There are times when I'm not sure what to say, but then when I get going, it's hard to stop! This past December, after Blog Project 3.0 was underway for a bit, I decided to revisit my fiction writing by making that a topic. It was so nice to go into another person's life for a little while and my short story garnered positive feedback. I made it a goal to write at least one fiction piece for my blog every month in 2014. It keeps my mind active in a different way than I'm used to and allows me to strengthen a skill that had been dormant for quite some time.
Even Chick Lit Central allows me to be creative in different ways, like with my interview questions, theme topics, ideas for posts, etc. I still like to incorporate it into the writing process in some way. This year for International Chick Lit Month, I asked authors to talk about going on a "friend date" with one of their characters. In the past, I've asked authors to do a "where are they now" post about one of their characters. The theme months I've done at the blog have ranged from "Friendship" to "Movies" to "Happiness" to "Birthdays," and there are still more themes in store. I like coming up with various questions based on these themes.
At work, I've made it a tradition to give a D'var Torah (a speech about the most recent parasha/Torah portion) every year on my anniversary with the organization. Since this falls in December, I usually get to talk about Ya'akov (Jacob) or Yosef (Joseph). I get some information from various websites that discuss it and then I find ways to connect them with what my organization does. I was really proud of the one I did this past year, tying the virtues of Menashe and Ephraim to various aspects of fundraising. I received a lot of positive feedback on it too. I hope I'll continue to strengthen my D'var Torah writing skills as the anniversaries continue to build up.
Finally, I've entered a couple of contests for Ladies' Home Journal. I didn't win, but I'm proud of what I wrote for both of them. One piece was about how I met my husband ("The Moment that Changed My Life") and the other was about starting a book blog ("The Best Decision I Ever Made"). I posted both entries on my blog once I knew that I didn't win and they received positive feedback. The latter even led to another opportunity which I hope will come through. (Not saying anything more on that as to not jinx things.) I hope to enter more essay contests in the future and maybe even a fiction contest or two.
Looking back on all these writing experiences tells me that my true essence lies in my writing. I still feel I have a ways to go with it and could always strengthen different aspects of my work (such as adding more details to my fiction pieces). In the long run, I am in charge of what I write and there's no teacher to analyze my work or tell me to do it better. If I want to improve upon something, I will. I'm just glad to be writing and that blogging provides such a great outlet for me to express myself in this fashion.
This week Froggie chose the topic: The essence of you. Write something captures the essence of who you are as a person.
First, read what everyone else had to share on this topic:
Darwin Shrugged
Froggie
Moma Rock
The other day, at work, we were given an activity to do for an inter-office contest. We're supposed to find something we're passionate about in relation to the organization and make a picture of it to put in a special frame they gave us. While what I plan to do for that activity has nothing to do with this post, I was able to relate the two topics initially. Isn't your essence something you're passionate about? I see it that way. In any case, the more I thought about it, the more I knew that writing is what captures my essence.
I've always enjoyed creative writing. Even in elementary school, I enjoyed making up stories. They were probably silly and made no sense at the time, but I had fun, nonetheless. I hated when someone tried to curb my creativity by asking for details. I remember when we had to make up characters for our language arts class. I first created an angel and was told that I had to create a real person. That totally annoyed me because characters should be able to come in any shape or form.
When I started high school, I had to write something based on my summer reading assignment of Tom Sawyer. I didn't like the book all that much, but decided to have fun with it anyway. My English teacher liked it so much that he gave my name to the head of the Forensics (speech) team. From there, I tried my hand at original comedy. Even though my piece didn't do all that well, I had fun putting it together and my English teacher thought I was funny, at least. I also used my creative writing skills in theater classes and for directing class. They later came in handy for when I took improv comedy classes at Comedy Sportz in my mid-20s.
Senior year, I took a creative writing class. It was one of my favorite classes that year. I had so much fun putting together different stories, poems, plays, etc. My teacher even submitted some of my work to contests and entered my play into the literary magazine. Some peers in my directing class even chose my play for their end-of-year directing project. I received more compliments on the play I wrote than the play I directed (that someone else wrote). That was definitely flattering.
In college, I didn't get to explore much on a creative level. I wrote some papers and got away with not knowing what I was talking about, simply by the way I wrote them. One of the papers I had fun working on was comparing Seinfeld to Pulp Fiction. In the meantime, I always had story ideas going through my head but never wrote them down.
Fast forward to 2009, when I started this blog. I had done some blogging in the past, but most of it was venting and dissecting episodes of Desperate Housewives. In 2010, I found this website that had a fiction writing challenge every Friday. I started doing that from time to time and really enjoyed what I came up with. I could tell that other readers liked my writing too, and they didn't even have a reason to be bias! I was also doing book reviews for Chick Lit Central and put a lot of thought into them. I had also started the first blog project group in 2010, which lasted for a little while before fizzling out. When my daughter was born, I curbed the fiction writing for a while. In the meantime, Blog Project 2.0 had started up and I liked the challenging new topics everyone presented. I really like writing my thoughts out on personal topics, as well as pop culture, news stories, ethical dilemmas, etc. There are times when I'm not sure what to say, but then when I get going, it's hard to stop! This past December, after Blog Project 3.0 was underway for a bit, I decided to revisit my fiction writing by making that a topic. It was so nice to go into another person's life for a little while and my short story garnered positive feedback. I made it a goal to write at least one fiction piece for my blog every month in 2014. It keeps my mind active in a different way than I'm used to and allows me to strengthen a skill that had been dormant for quite some time.
Even Chick Lit Central allows me to be creative in different ways, like with my interview questions, theme topics, ideas for posts, etc. I still like to incorporate it into the writing process in some way. This year for International Chick Lit Month, I asked authors to talk about going on a "friend date" with one of their characters. In the past, I've asked authors to do a "where are they now" post about one of their characters. The theme months I've done at the blog have ranged from "Friendship" to "Movies" to "Happiness" to "Birthdays," and there are still more themes in store. I like coming up with various questions based on these themes.
At work, I've made it a tradition to give a D'var Torah (a speech about the most recent parasha/Torah portion) every year on my anniversary with the organization. Since this falls in December, I usually get to talk about Ya'akov (Jacob) or Yosef (Joseph). I get some information from various websites that discuss it and then I find ways to connect them with what my organization does. I was really proud of the one I did this past year, tying the virtues of Menashe and Ephraim to various aspects of fundraising. I received a lot of positive feedback on it too. I hope I'll continue to strengthen my D'var Torah writing skills as the anniversaries continue to build up.
Finally, I've entered a couple of contests for Ladies' Home Journal. I didn't win, but I'm proud of what I wrote for both of them. One piece was about how I met my husband ("The Moment that Changed My Life") and the other was about starting a book blog ("The Best Decision I Ever Made"). I posted both entries on my blog once I knew that I didn't win and they received positive feedback. The latter even led to another opportunity which I hope will come through. (Not saying anything more on that as to not jinx things.) I hope to enter more essay contests in the future and maybe even a fiction contest or two.
Looking back on all these writing experiences tells me that my true essence lies in my writing. I still feel I have a ways to go with it and could always strengthen different aspects of my work (such as adding more details to my fiction pieces). In the long run, I am in charge of what I write and there's no teacher to analyze my work or tell me to do it better. If I want to improve upon something, I will. I'm just glad to be writing and that blogging provides such a great outlet for me to express myself in this fashion.
Thursday, May 1, 2014
All Consuming
Our blog project group has once again changed by one member, but I'm still calling it Blog Project 3.0. The newest member is Darwin Shrugged, a friend of Froggie's. I recently got to know her better through "52 Stories" and I look forward to what she has to say on the upcoming topics.
This week I chose the topic: I recently heard about a book called The 100 Thing Challenge.
Since 100 is a lot to think about, I've decided to narrow it down and change things up a bit.
Write about either "10 things you CAN'T live without" OR "10 things you CAN live without." These "things" have to be items that you spend money on (not people or metaphorical concepts).
First, read what everyone else had to share on this topic:
Darwin Shrugged
Froggie
Moma Rock
The day after I chose this topic, there was an awful explosion near the town where I grew up. Apparently, there was a natural gas odor in the air and the woman living in the house said she saw something on fire and went across the street to call 911. Lucky for her that she left when she did because her house exploded. From what I heard, the source of the explosion is still a mystery. Still, that's scary to have such a near miss and to also lose everything you own in one fell swoop. I know one's life is the most important thing and that houses can be rebuilt and material things can be replaced. However, there are some things you just want to keep because they contain special memories. A couple of years ago, for a blog project topic, we were asked to write about what we'd take with us if we had to evacuate our home and what we'd miss most if our house were destroyed. Here's what I had to say on that.
In relation to this rather timely and horrendous incident, it's hard to really think about the items I can or cannot live without. Thinking about just losing everything at once is unimaginable. Having to start over like that would just feel so overwhelming. I had a whole list planned out before the incident happened and now I don't know if any of that really matters. I am thankful for all I have and could definitely go without most of the material items I possess. Sure, I'd miss some items here and there, but not as much as the house I've lived in for almost five years and that has seen good times with family, a new child, several birthdays, many TV show binge-fests, countless Shabbat and holiday meals, lots of great friends, etc.
What The 100 Thing Challenge tells me right now is that I need to cut back on clutter and stop hoarding so much. Last weekend, we donated a bunch of clothes, books, games, household items, and other random stuff to my favorite thrift store. It felt good to get that all out of the house. I still have bags and boxes of childrens' clothes to give to some friends. I also have a lot of books that are just waiting for Chick Lit Central to hit 2000 likes on Facebook (hint, hint...). Even while going through stuff to donate, I kept telling my husband to hold on to things because we might use them. Then my older son is telling me to have a yard sale and I told him we really need to go through all the stuff in our basement before we even consider doing that. Sometimes the amount of stuff we have in our home is more overwhelming than the idea of losing it all and having to start from scratch. Going back to #FirstWorldProblems, right? Our cleaning service is coming next week. All the more reason to get organized again and maybe set aside stuff that can be donated or sold (at the yard sale my older son thinks is so easy to put together).
In lieu of this, I am going to do a giveaway. You'll be receiving some random stuff, but it will be a surprise. Nothing too scary, I promise. :)
How to win: Use Rafflecopter to enter this giveaway. You must be a follower of this blog to qualify.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
US only. Giveaway ends May 6th at midnight EST.
This week I chose the topic: I recently heard about a book called The 100 Thing Challenge.
Since 100 is a lot to think about, I've decided to narrow it down and change things up a bit.
Write about either "10 things you CAN'T live without" OR "10 things you CAN live without." These "things" have to be items that you spend money on (not people or metaphorical concepts).
First, read what everyone else had to share on this topic:
Darwin Shrugged
Froggie
Moma Rock
The day after I chose this topic, there was an awful explosion near the town where I grew up. Apparently, there was a natural gas odor in the air and the woman living in the house said she saw something on fire and went across the street to call 911. Lucky for her that she left when she did because her house exploded. From what I heard, the source of the explosion is still a mystery. Still, that's scary to have such a near miss and to also lose everything you own in one fell swoop. I know one's life is the most important thing and that houses can be rebuilt and material things can be replaced. However, there are some things you just want to keep because they contain special memories. A couple of years ago, for a blog project topic, we were asked to write about what we'd take with us if we had to evacuate our home and what we'd miss most if our house were destroyed. Here's what I had to say on that.
In relation to this rather timely and horrendous incident, it's hard to really think about the items I can or cannot live without. Thinking about just losing everything at once is unimaginable. Having to start over like that would just feel so overwhelming. I had a whole list planned out before the incident happened and now I don't know if any of that really matters. I am thankful for all I have and could definitely go without most of the material items I possess. Sure, I'd miss some items here and there, but not as much as the house I've lived in for almost five years and that has seen good times with family, a new child, several birthdays, many TV show binge-fests, countless Shabbat and holiday meals, lots of great friends, etc.
What The 100 Thing Challenge tells me right now is that I need to cut back on clutter and stop hoarding so much. Last weekend, we donated a bunch of clothes, books, games, household items, and other random stuff to my favorite thrift store. It felt good to get that all out of the house. I still have bags and boxes of childrens' clothes to give to some friends. I also have a lot of books that are just waiting for Chick Lit Central to hit 2000 likes on Facebook (hint, hint...). Even while going through stuff to donate, I kept telling my husband to hold on to things because we might use them. Then my older son is telling me to have a yard sale and I told him we really need to go through all the stuff in our basement before we even consider doing that. Sometimes the amount of stuff we have in our home is more overwhelming than the idea of losing it all and having to start from scratch. Going back to #FirstWorldProblems, right? Our cleaning service is coming next week. All the more reason to get organized again and maybe set aside stuff that can be donated or sold (at the yard sale my older son thinks is so easy to put together).
In lieu of this, I am going to do a giveaway. You'll be receiving some random stuff, but it will be a surprise. Nothing too scary, I promise. :)
How to win: Use Rafflecopter to enter this giveaway. You must be a follower of this blog to qualify.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
US only. Giveaway ends May 6th at midnight EST.
Wednesday, April 30, 2014
Fairy Tale Fun
I recently read Desperately Ever After by Laura Kenyon, which is about some fairy tale princesses we all know and love, but told in a modern style in the vein of Sex and the City and Desperate Housewives. That has inspired me to revisit an idea I came up with a while ago, which was to do something with a fairy tale to make it fit into modern times. I chose to write Goldilocks and the Three Bears as a chick lit novel. You can read more about it here. I don't know if I'll ever continue with it, but I thought I would try to write a little something that went along with an idea I had fun coming up with originally.
Chapter One from Just Right:
Chapter One from Just Right:
The Longest Lunch
Break
Call me crazy, but I love Mondays. They’re the one day a
week that I have a standing lunch date with three of my closest friends at Sutton
and Stafford, the investment firm where we work as support staff. We check out
the trendiest restaurants Manhattan has to offer and I make notes for my posts
in “Just Right,” my restaurant review blog.
I’m in the mood for Thai today, so I hope Jeannie, Stacy,
and Cameron will be up for it too. Since it’s a refreshing 60 degrees out, I
skip the subway and walk the 30 blocks to the office. (I wear my sneakers and
pack the sensible work shoes that pinch my feet.) I pop in my earphones and set
my iPod to my classic rock playlist, starting off with “Hold the Line” by Toto.
The balmy breeze feels good after a long, insufferable winter.
Several songs later, I arrive at the front lobby of Sutton
and Stafford and greet Mervin, the security guard. He seems distracted today
for some reason, but I am in a rush to get started on my day so lunch will
arrive that much sooner. When I get out at the 10th floor, something
doesn’t feel right. It’s almost too quiet. Sheila isn’t at her reception desk,
where she normally chats to her friends and paints her nails. Most of the
lights are off and there are boxes all over the place. I find Stacy at her
desk, staring blankly into a void. “We’re done for, Goldie. Ollie Sutton got
involved in a Ponzi scheme and screwed us all over in the process. Everyone has
been let go.” She then buries her head in her arms and starts sobbing.
I try to choke back my own tears, but they’re too powerful.
I love working here. There are so many perks to the job, like gym membership, a
Starbucks on every other floor (including the 10th), iPads for every
employee, company parties on a private yacht…just name it, we probably have it
as a perk. Besides, I make enough to live comfortably in my own apartment that
rivals the one Monica and Rachel lived in on Friends. It terrifies me to think that I could lose all of this.
And there’s no way I will go back to Connecticut to live with my parents. I’ve
come too far.
All I say to Stacy in response is “I guess our lunch date is
off then.” She just cries harder though and I keep her company until Jeannie
and Cameron show up. Apparently, I have been the only one in the dark lately.
The others somehow saw this coming from a mile away. You’d think someone could
have warned me! But no, Ollie knew what he was doing with those investments and
he was supposed to double the company’s income in a matter of weeks. Turns out,
he’s never going to see that money again. And, of course, this is going to be
all over social media and my gossipy sister, Silver (yes, my parents had a
weird sense of humor when naming us) will tell my parents in no time. This is
going to be a disaster.
I slowly pack up the items from my desk and avoid answering any
calls to my desk and cell phones. I take one more spin in the most comfortable
desk chair I’ve ever sat in. (It won all sorts of ergonomic awards. I’m not
even joking here.) Then I say goodbye to my lunch buddies, promising that we’ll
touch base soon via e-mail to network for other jobs.
I’m too upset to enjoy this beautiful spring day and take
the subway back to my apartment, hoping I’ll be able to hang onto it as long as
possible. After dropping off my stuff, I stop at Lolly’s Diner on West 81st,
suddenly realizing that I never had breakfast (I usually get a muffin at
Starbucks), and that I’m starving. Another thing I’ll soon have to stop doing
if I hope to survive in New York as long as possible…dining out. There goes my
blog as a result.
Lolly’s daughter, Cindy, who now owns the diner while still
working as a server, recognizes me right away and seats me at my regular booth.
“What’ll it be today, Sugar?” (I love how she embodies the classic diner
waitress personality.)
“The usual, thanks.” My usual is a short stack of pancakes with
blueberry syrup and a side of scrambled eggs with peppers and onions mixed in.
And no, I’m not pregnant. (Not that I even have someone to help me get
pregnant.)
“Either I’m having déjà vu or it’s Sunday again. You’re
never in here during the week.”
“I know. I just lost my job and before you ask, I don’t want
to talk about it.”
“Oh, Sugar! Sorry to hear it. Breakfast is on the house
today. I’ve got to keep my favorite customer happy.”
“You don’t have to do that. Besides, you already got a good
review in my blog already.”
“And look how many customers it has brought in. Why do you
think you can’t get your regular booth on Sundays anymore.”
“Hah! Like that many people even read it. The restaurant is
a tourist trap since the front was used on Roxie’s,
back in the 80s. You have nostalgia and really good food going for you. That Seinfeld restaurant has nothing on this
place!”
“Have you looked at the number of followers you have, Sugar?
I think tourists come to New York just to try the restaurants you’ve been
reviewing. You should forget about investment banking and get a job in the food
business. At least monetize your blog for now.”
“What do you know about blogging?”
“I have my sources. And I’ve heard that some newspapers have
been asking about you.”
“Really, now?” I look at Cindy skeptically. “You’d think
they’d be calling me if they really wanted me.”
“I wouldn’t be surprised if you start getting some calls
soon. Just saying. Anyway, your breakfast is up. I’ll be right back. Need
anything to drink?”
“Well, since you’re paying, I wouldn’t mind a tall glass of
chocolate milk.”
“You sure you’re not pregnant, Sugar?”
“You crack me up. Now hurry with those eggs and pancakes
before they get cold and I have to write a new review.”
“Yes, ma’am!”
As I dig in, I mull over what Cindy said about doing more
with my blog to make some money from it. I’ve been doing it as a hobby, but
monetizing couldn’t hurt and every little bit I make could keep me in my
apartment that much longer. Maybe I could get some free meals out of it too. A
girl’s gotta survive in the Big Apple somehow, right? I’ll look for sponsors
when I get home. For now, I’m going to enjoy what I’ve written up as the best
breakfast in the city…even if you’re not pregnant.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
