The situation has been resolved. I am going to the wedding, and at a really great price, and we're currently on the hunt for my outfit!!!
Oh, and I'm back in the writing field. Major renovations are occuring, and then I'll share more. Have a fabulous day!
Friday, July 31, 2009
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Grrrrrrr
I have decided that money is stupid. I want to go to a friend's wedding and unless some miracle occurs, I can't go. Problem is I have known this friend since I was 3. And I met his finace a few months ago and we've grown really close too so it's like 2 awesome friends marrying each other and I might not be able to go. Yeah, ok, so there's a reception in Cincy a few days later, but that's not the same thing ESPECIALLY when the bride specifically asked me to come to the wedding and the other reception that night. But you know, DC is not the cheapest place to travel to. And I happen to be excessively poor.
Anyway, I have decided that to make me feel better, I'm going to post a bit of my writing on here and let whoever the heck still reads my blog hash at it and tell me what gives. I may do this for a while, but it's my blog, so I can. And I have an idea for a fun little challenge coming up...assuming people still read this....
We'll start off gently with a prologue. Now, the key here is to catch the reader's attention and make them want to keep reading. If I fail at that, then it doesn't work for the story and must be revised. So your job, reader, is to let me know.
Here we go:
Staffordshire, June 1803
Andrew Birkham had never really put much stock into stars.
Oh, he enjoyed gazing at them and finding constellations well enough, but as to the wishing upon them and believing they held some sort of enchantment, he was all skepticism.
But the summer of his sixteenth year, something changed his opinion only slightly, just enough to make the stars seem a little magical after all.
That something was Rebecca Dumate.
She was the cheeky scamp who lived at Marshall Hall, a mere three miles from his family’s newly purchased Benbridge estate. He met her at the dinner party hosted by her parents, but did not really notice her until they, along with their respective brothers, had begged out of the boring conversations to follow the meal and escaped to explore the night sky.
Little Rebecca had situated herself at the very end of the row of blankets and immediately commenced in her own explorations, ignoring what anyone else was doing and, apparently, perfectly content in her own thoughts.
From the little he knew about the eleven year old, he suspected she was most likely imagining all sorts of girlish nonsense. All else he knew was that she was wickedly fast and that she could be quite the hellion, if her brothers could be believed.
But something about the way her bright eyes scanned the sky so eagerly, the small smile that played on her face, and the sprinkling of freckles across the bridge of her nose enchanted him a little. He moved to take the blanket next to her, to which she had no reaction.
“And what thoughts occupy your mind so completely, Miss Rebecca?” he asked quietly, turning his head to look at her.
She jumped slightly and looked up at him with wide eyes. Then she bit her lip and lowered them in embarrassment. “I—I was trying to find a star to wish upon.”
He knew it. And yet, for the first time, it did not seem quite so ridiculous.
“Don’t be such a girl, Rebecca!” her brother Edward chortled from the other side of him.
Andrew felt the odd desire to punch his new friend when he caught the flash of hurt that crossed the girl’s face. Could her own brother not see what she was feeling?
Then her other brother proposed a constellation challenge and all was apparently forgotten as she returned her attention to the task at hand with enthusiasm.
But Andrew was not so easily distracted. When the time came to return to the house, something compelled him to pull the girl aside.
“Pick out your star, Rebecca,” he urged gently.
She beamed up at him, warming his heart slightly, and turned to find one. Quickly she pointed at a bright one in the southern sky. He bent down to her level and peered at it, nodding thoughtfully.
“Very good. Now, you must wish upon it whenever you can, but you must never tell the wish, or else it cannot come true.” Wasn’t that the proper wishing etiquette? He sincerely hoped so, he did not want to make a fool of himself in front of this charming child.
But Rebecca nodded obediently and relief washed over him. He grinned down at her, then ran to join the boys in the house. He’d remember that star and should he ever notice it again, perhaps he would think about the little girl and wonder what her wishes were and if they were coming true.
If Andrew Birkham had, however, noticed the expression on young Rebecca Dumate’s face as he departed, he might not have been so keen as to wonder about the content of her wishes.
Indeed, he would not have had to wonder at all.
Anyway, I have decided that to make me feel better, I'm going to post a bit of my writing on here and let whoever the heck still reads my blog hash at it and tell me what gives. I may do this for a while, but it's my blog, so I can. And I have an idea for a fun little challenge coming up...assuming people still read this....
We'll start off gently with a prologue. Now, the key here is to catch the reader's attention and make them want to keep reading. If I fail at that, then it doesn't work for the story and must be revised. So your job, reader, is to let me know.
Here we go:
Staffordshire, June 1803
Andrew Birkham had never really put much stock into stars.
Oh, he enjoyed gazing at them and finding constellations well enough, but as to the wishing upon them and believing they held some sort of enchantment, he was all skepticism.
But the summer of his sixteenth year, something changed his opinion only slightly, just enough to make the stars seem a little magical after all.
That something was Rebecca Dumate.
She was the cheeky scamp who lived at Marshall Hall, a mere three miles from his family’s newly purchased Benbridge estate. He met her at the dinner party hosted by her parents, but did not really notice her until they, along with their respective brothers, had begged out of the boring conversations to follow the meal and escaped to explore the night sky.
Little Rebecca had situated herself at the very end of the row of blankets and immediately commenced in her own explorations, ignoring what anyone else was doing and, apparently, perfectly content in her own thoughts.
From the little he knew about the eleven year old, he suspected she was most likely imagining all sorts of girlish nonsense. All else he knew was that she was wickedly fast and that she could be quite the hellion, if her brothers could be believed.
But something about the way her bright eyes scanned the sky so eagerly, the small smile that played on her face, and the sprinkling of freckles across the bridge of her nose enchanted him a little. He moved to take the blanket next to her, to which she had no reaction.
“And what thoughts occupy your mind so completely, Miss Rebecca?” he asked quietly, turning his head to look at her.
She jumped slightly and looked up at him with wide eyes. Then she bit her lip and lowered them in embarrassment. “I—I was trying to find a star to wish upon.”
He knew it. And yet, for the first time, it did not seem quite so ridiculous.
“Don’t be such a girl, Rebecca!” her brother Edward chortled from the other side of him.
Andrew felt the odd desire to punch his new friend when he caught the flash of hurt that crossed the girl’s face. Could her own brother not see what she was feeling?
Then her other brother proposed a constellation challenge and all was apparently forgotten as she returned her attention to the task at hand with enthusiasm.
But Andrew was not so easily distracted. When the time came to return to the house, something compelled him to pull the girl aside.
“Pick out your star, Rebecca,” he urged gently.
She beamed up at him, warming his heart slightly, and turned to find one. Quickly she pointed at a bright one in the southern sky. He bent down to her level and peered at it, nodding thoughtfully.
“Very good. Now, you must wish upon it whenever you can, but you must never tell the wish, or else it cannot come true.” Wasn’t that the proper wishing etiquette? He sincerely hoped so, he did not want to make a fool of himself in front of this charming child.
But Rebecca nodded obediently and relief washed over him. He grinned down at her, then ran to join the boys in the house. He’d remember that star and should he ever notice it again, perhaps he would think about the little girl and wonder what her wishes were and if they were coming true.
If Andrew Birkham had, however, noticed the expression on young Rebecca Dumate’s face as he departed, he might not have been so keen as to wonder about the content of her wishes.
Indeed, he would not have had to wonder at all.
Monday, July 13, 2009
Hope and Inspiration
Well, today felt like a really long day, even though compared to a lot of people it probably wasn't. I had four massages, which isn't a lot at all, but when you're out of practice like I am, that many can be draining. I am starting to feel very overwhelmed and burdened down by all of the things I have yet to do and what is ahead of me, and all of those wonderful things that accompany entering the adult and business world. I have been depressed and discouraged and mostly unwilling to face what I have to. It's not been pretty or fun and I know I've been a wretch with my family, but I couldn't seem to find my way out of it.
But amidst my massages today, I caught sight of a show my sisters were sort of watching on TV. America's Got Talent.
Now, I had seen all the youtube videos on Paul Potts and Susan Boyle and that adorable six year old from awhile ago on Britain's Got Talent, but I can honestly say that I never cared about the talent America had. Must be the die-hard Brit that pretends to live within me. Yeah, America's got talent, but most of it's crap. And I never understood how Sharon Osbourne and David Hasselhoff were qualified to identify talent, but that's another deal.
But today, I got a breather from this show and what a message it was to me. Watch this video of Lawrence Beaman. He's a delivery guy.
Absolutely amazing. I had chills all over the place. I was literally transfixed, staring at the tv in the living room, hand to my heart, mouth gaping.
And I couldn't get it out of my mind. So, being the curious, must-know being that I am, I wanted to watch it again online. I went to the nbc website, watched it, then something ELSE caught my eye. Another story that I want to share with you all. It changed my attitude entirely.
I love what she says there: When you have hope, you keep going. I didn't have any, and that was the problem. Just because my life now isn't what I had planned doesn't mean that it's going to be awful. I can still do all those things that I've dreamed of doing. It just might take a little more time.
And that's ok...finally.
Thank heaven for moments of inspiration.
Monday, July 6, 2009
Ok, time for the rundown
Hi y'all.
Remember me? Prolly not, but that's ok. It's my own fault. Life has been crazy with me trying to get everything done that I needed to and now that I have time to breathe, I can fill everyone in.
Since passing my exam, I have been filling out lots of paperwork trying to get licensed in Indiana and getting my scores set and setting up my business so that I can have an income and eventually move to my own place and be independent again. It's slow, which is frustrating, and it makes me anxious, which isn't good, but there is not much I can do about that.
I needed a break, and so I went for a little jaunt to St. Louis to visit my college roomie Steph and her family and it was AWESOME. A touch hot and mroe than a touch humid, but we had a great time and it was just the vacay I needed. I went to the zoo, the art museum, a few bookstores, the City Museum [a MUST for anyone going there...it's a playground for big kids!], the Arch, and two movies, not to mention the fabulous array of foods I partook of. Ah, it was bliss, and suffice it to say, I was not excited to come back home.
But my sister Sarah is here for a bit, working church summer camps and generally making us all a little crazier, which is so much fun! Then last week, my brother and his VERY pregnant wife came up for the 4th and Erin's baby shower, so we had whole family here for a few days. Wow, did this house get small quickly. We used to all fit, I swear. We played games, went shopping, felt the baby hiccup...and then the shower came on Friday. Wow, did Erin ever SCORE! Some of our family came down from Chi-town and we laughed A LOT. Good times, good times. I can't wait to be an aunt.
And since Erin is so far along, we couldn't really go anywhere for a fireworks show, and honestly, none of us wanted to. But lucky us, our neighbors got together with some other people in the next neighborhood over and shot off some totally CRAZY fieworks right there next to us so we got a show on our deck for free! It was so COOL. Best fireworks ever, hands down. I almost wrote them a check.
Now the house is quiet again. Jen swims at Nationals tomorrow and Wed with a shot at the World Champ team, so who knows what's coming next.
As for me, I'm still trying to find my place around here. I haven't written in ages[very sad, I know, but I haven't lost anything...I hope...], mostly because I don't feel like I can just sit and do it. I feel like I have to actively be doing something, but there is nothing to do. I feel assured that things will work out, I just don't know when or how...
And THAT is what terrfies the heck out of me.
Remember me? Prolly not, but that's ok. It's my own fault. Life has been crazy with me trying to get everything done that I needed to and now that I have time to breathe, I can fill everyone in.
Since passing my exam, I have been filling out lots of paperwork trying to get licensed in Indiana and getting my scores set and setting up my business so that I can have an income and eventually move to my own place and be independent again. It's slow, which is frustrating, and it makes me anxious, which isn't good, but there is not much I can do about that.
I needed a break, and so I went for a little jaunt to St. Louis to visit my college roomie Steph and her family and it was AWESOME. A touch hot and mroe than a touch humid, but we had a great time and it was just the vacay I needed. I went to the zoo, the art museum, a few bookstores, the City Museum [a MUST for anyone going there...it's a playground for big kids!], the Arch, and two movies, not to mention the fabulous array of foods I partook of. Ah, it was bliss, and suffice it to say, I was not excited to come back home.
But my sister Sarah is here for a bit, working church summer camps and generally making us all a little crazier, which is so much fun! Then last week, my brother and his VERY pregnant wife came up for the 4th and Erin's baby shower, so we had whole family here for a few days. Wow, did this house get small quickly. We used to all fit, I swear. We played games, went shopping, felt the baby hiccup...and then the shower came on Friday. Wow, did Erin ever SCORE! Some of our family came down from Chi-town and we laughed A LOT. Good times, good times. I can't wait to be an aunt.
And since Erin is so far along, we couldn't really go anywhere for a fireworks show, and honestly, none of us wanted to. But lucky us, our neighbors got together with some other people in the next neighborhood over and shot off some totally CRAZY fieworks right there next to us so we got a show on our deck for free! It was so COOL. Best fireworks ever, hands down. I almost wrote them a check.
Now the house is quiet again. Jen swims at Nationals tomorrow and Wed with a shot at the World Champ team, so who knows what's coming next.
As for me, I'm still trying to find my place around here. I haven't written in ages[very sad, I know, but I haven't lost anything...I hope...], mostly because I don't feel like I can just sit and do it. I feel like I have to actively be doing something, but there is nothing to do. I feel assured that things will work out, I just don't know when or how...
And THAT is what terrfies the heck out of me.
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Sorry
Sorry, guys, things have been nutty and I have not had the time to catch everyone up on my life. And I don't have the time now either...
So, here's what I'll do. I will promise that before July 7th, you will all know exactly what I've been doing since my last post and I will even throw in some pictures. I can promise no earlier dates because my family is all going to be together [YAY!!!] for the 4th and so obviously, I will not be spending my precious family time blogging...I don't think....
Love to you all, and I'll chat as soon as I can breathe again!
So, here's what I'll do. I will promise that before July 7th, you will all know exactly what I've been doing since my last post and I will even throw in some pictures. I can promise no earlier dates because my family is all going to be together [YAY!!!] for the 4th and so obviously, I will not be spending my precious family time blogging...I don't think....
Love to you all, and I'll chat as soon as I can breathe again!
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