Autumn!!!

 

I love being home.

This is the week off from school in Jersey, when teachers have conventions and we have a fall break with no major holiday attached that requires cooking and cleaning and a lot of work. (OK, election day is attached, but it doesn't require cooking and cleaning and gifts and stuff.) I love this week off.

Just like usual, the time flies when you're having fun. It's a long endless week when you are looking at it in advance, with a ton of time to do everything you've been putting off for weeks. But then when you are actually in the middle of it, the time shrinks down into little tiny bits that are taken up too quickly.

It's given me extra time to Nanowri, but those hours slide by into the afternoon and I haven't gotten anything done. Not even enough words in my novel to be ahead of my schedule. Then the regular cooking thing and laundry thing takes up time too. And having fun can be time consuming. And the whole week is just sliding by before my very eyes.

I wish there was a way to make bad times fly by, and good times slow down to a crawl...


Why can't

Barack Obama :D

I remember seeing this speech, year after year, and wondering why the dream that Dr. Martin Luther King spoke of was so slow in coming true. And when the election results were announced, one of my first thoughts was of Dr. King's dream. It's an old speech, and everyone has seen it a million times. But it always moves me.

I was watching one of the channels with election coverage and saw the Reverend Jesse Jackson, with tears running down his face. So many emotional people. It's a lovely thing.

OBAMA WINS :D !!!!

What an amazing moment to be a part of! I'm so proud and amazed that we did it! I wasn't really optimistic, but it actually happened!

Watching Mayhem

Watching the Mayhem is what my family (especially Thor) calls it when there is endless TV news coverage about anything. It can be election results, it can be snowstorm reports, it can be breaking news about any topic. It's all mayhem. We enjoy watching mayhem -- well, we enjoy it when it's something like election reports or snowstorms. Sometimes it really is mayhem, and that isn't really too enjoyable.

We all went and voted. We are all sitting in the family room, watching the mayhem being reported. Well, they guys are paying more attention than I am. I'm watching and nanowrimoing and surfing the internet tubes and doing laundry and drinking tea. And blogging. They say women are much better at multi-tasking than men. That may be true.

My Nanonovel is almost at 4,000 words. That means 46,000 to go. That's not really a good way to look at it, because that is very intimidating. It's been flowing pretty well, but I'm really not sure if it's good or not. I might post excerpts on my Nanowrimo page, and if I do, I'll let you know. I haven't yet.

I read a few books and articles about writing novels, and I got the idea from what I read that the best idea is to come up with the characters and then just see what the characters do. So that's what I've been attempting to do. I have no outline, just some general ideas. And the characters are all completely made up. I was worried that I wouldn't be able to come up with a character that wasn't a copy of someone that I already know, but it turns out that it wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. The characters really are their own people. They might have things in common with some people I know, but just in the same way that any one person could have something in common with any other person. The setting, though, is very definitely my own neighborhood. I need to picture the place that the character is moving around in. I'm not calling it by the same name as my neighborhood, but it is laid out exactly the same.

So just like the advice I read suggested, for my Nanonovel I'm just sitting at the keyboard and reporting what the character does next.

It's kinda like nanomayhem.... (groan) :P

glitter-graphics.com

I have strong opinions about WHO I'm voting for, but I don't care who YOU are voting for... Just as long as you vote!

I hope that whoever wins, at least makes every effort to do the right thing.

Whatever that might be.

An award for ME?

Thank you, Punam! It is very nice of you to award my blog, and I will be forwarding this award to seven others... I also look forward to seeing the other blogs that you've awarded!

Same sunset, more shadow.

 

I like playing with the photos in picasa, like I've mentioned before. I just tried more shadow and I really like the effect. It isn't real, but it's cool anyway. Really, any photo isn't real, is it? Besides that, I took a bunch of photos on different settings, at the same time, of the same subject, and they all came out differently. So really, what difference does it make if I adjust it AFTER I take it or BEFORE?

Sunset, a day later

 

I like this picture of the sunset better than the picture of the sunrise. The moon is included, and a few streaks of clouds give it more color. And actually, I don't dislike the wires and street lights. (Note added later -- I like the top sunset better than this sunset, though.)

It's been a busy few days. Time for a rest.

Orange juice sunrise

 

This morning's sun reminds me of that song "Tequila Sunrise" except I really don't like Tequila.
I usually don't get up early enough to look at the sunrise on the days when I have time to look at the sunrise -- and on days when I have work, I get up before the sunrise and I'm in work by the time there is anything worth taking a picture of.
So here is one of the very few sunrise pictures you will ever see on my blog.

I must admit that I think the sunset is more beautiful.

Mischief night

 

Tonight is Mischief Night... the night before Halloween, which is the night before All Saints Day.
I don't know all about the history of these nights, but Mischief Night around here is the night for the "tricks" in the trick or treats. Halloween is the night for the treats and the costumes. And All Saints Day isn't really celebrated at all, as far as I know.

Wordy Wednesday

 

I thought about doing a wordless Wednesday post, which is why I took this photo. But then I decided I wanted to write something. But I really don't have anything important to say. Like usual. So it's a wordy Wednesday. 'Cause I just want to mention a few things.

One thing I wanted to say is Happy Diwali. I don't know a lot about the holiday, but I know a lot of people celebrate it, so enjoy!

Another thing I wanted to mention is what Frank pointed out to me before -- I passed 10,000 views! I'm sure that at least 5,000 of them are me, but I'm still excited.

My photo is of the tree in front of my house, an old magnolia. I love that tree. It looks bright and sunny and warm, right? But yesterday, we had flurries. And my mom in Pennsylvania had TONS of snow. EEK! What does that say about global warming???

Finally, I wanted to remind y'all about Nanowrimo starting in November. I don't know if anything I write will be good enough to share, but I'm really looking forward to it. My blog posts may be less frequent, or shorter, while I'm in the middle of it. Or on the other hand, they could be longer and more frequent, if I'm procratinating. But I've done some of the pre-work, thinking about themes and characters. I have no plot. But I read somewhere that you should flesh out your characters, and then see what they decide to do. That's kind of what I'm going with.

I was thinking about writing young adult fiction, because of the trouble I had finding anything for the boys to read this summer. But then I thought about it, and I thought, what do I really know about young adult fiction? So I started thinking about writing it from the viewpoint of the mama, which I do know. And then I started thinking about Catcher in the Rye. I googled it and reviewed the spark notes. That's what I have in mind -- something like that. Aim for the top, right? Apparently Catcher in the Rye is a "Bildungsroman" novel, a novel about coming of age... I have some notes started, but I haven't started writing. Wish me luck!

Another night for Frankie.

 

When I started blogging, it was all about Frankie. I started while we were in the hospital, and I had nothing else to do, and Frankie "wasn't out of the woods yet," and everyone wanted to know what was going on. It was a great way to pass the time and feel like I was still in touch with everyone.

Somewhere along the line, I feel like this blog has de-generated into a brag fest about my wonderful children, (BOTH of whom are healthy, and out of the woods, now). I hope you don't mind. I write about what is going on in my life, and what is going on in my life is basically whatever is going on in my children's lives. That's why it's a mommy blog. Everyone always says, write what you know. This is what I know.

Nick has always taken a back seat in this blog. Because Nick is quieter, and more laid back. He's less focused on big achievements. The great things about Nick are what make him easy to live with and great to have around. Nick is not interested in drama, good or bad. (Not that Frankie likes to create drama. But he is much more extreme in the things that happen to him, and in the things that he accomplishes.)

Right now, Nick is working on his homework. He's been getting good grades, just not straight A's. He's involved in clubs -- at tonight's event, he was working the sound system with his friend Kyle, and at the same time, he was keeping an eye on his cousin William.

Before Nick was born, we were thinking about names. There was a quote in a movie somewhere that said of the name Nick:
"Now, Nick -- Nick's a guy you can trust." That was one of the reasons I liked the name. And he is becoming that person. I know I can count on him.

So please realize, as you read this blog -- I write more about Frankie, but not because he's my favorite son. I love them both, of course. And I'm just as proud of Nick as I am of Frank. Frankie's just got more to report on.

Spanish Honor Society Induction

 

Tonight, it was the World Languages Honor Society night; both French and Spanish. Frankie was inducted into the Spanish Honor Society. Criteria is A's in Spanish for three years in High School. It's been one of his goals since he was a freshman, and he achieved it.

Just a face in the crowd.

 

He has an amazing class. They are complete potential at this point in their lives. They will all be doctors and lawyers and teachers and engineers. They will all go to great schools and have amazingly successful lives.

More about Nick

I'm very impressed with Nick, getting himself to his soccer game today. He had to get himself up, bike more than 3 miles, using a map because he didn't remember how to get there, coach the little people team, and then bike home. And he never once complained about it.

He's doing the coaching thing because he's thinking about being a gym teacher. And he's doing a pretty good job, I guess. I know he isn't complaining about going.

Tonight, he's had his new girlfriend over. This is a first in our house. She's a cutie. But that's all I'm gonna say about THAT right now!

Friends don't let Friends Text and Drive.

Frankie and I went to visit Rowan University today. It's about an hour and a half away, which is a long time in the car together. (Nick was home; he had a soccer game. He's coaching 5 and 6 year olds. He actually got himself up, got himself to practice on his bike, and had the day to himself! More about him later.)

As we ate lunch, Frankie asked me, "Ya know the 'friends don't let friends drive drunk' campaign? I want to start my own ad. Friends don't let friends text and drive. Because that is just ridiculous, and people are doing it all the time."

We talked about his idea for a little while. He really wants to do this. His idea is that it's not just an info campaign, about how dangerous it is, it's peer pressure to keep people from doing something that they know is foolish but that they do anyway. (He didn't use the word foolish. He used more derogatory language.)

The question of whether that phrase, "Friends don't let Friends drink and drive" is copyrighted, came up. I wonder if someone already owns that phrase? Can he use it?

So anyway, the campaign is starting here. Because he's right. It is a (foolish) thing to do.

Another Morning Glory Photo

 

I wanted to post another photo, because I think I need more art on here.

Today, all my artistry was taken up in cooking. I made galumpkis. I'm not sure how you write that. They are little stuffed cabbages. First, I made rice. Tnen, I fried bacon. Then, I fried onions. Then, I chopped parseley. Then, I added ground beef and ground pork. Then, I wrapped the whole thing up in steamed cabbage leaves. Then, I baked the whole thing in tomato sauce.

They are a polish tradition. I never had them until I was an adult; they are from my husband's side of the family. I really enjoy them, as an adult. But they are a LOT of work. The cabbage leaves don't get soft enough all the time; there is a big rib down the center that doesn't want to fold up correctly.

I like to make them, and I like to eat them. But I don't feel very creative when I cook. It's not as much fun for me as photography or painting. On the other hand, it's much more practical. It's an art with a purpose. When the boys came home from the big football game they went to, I had something interesting for dinner. Plus I made enough for the party I'm having on November 1st. (Everyone, including you, is invited. Just let me know if you can make it.)

I really wanted to spend some time drawing a picture. But I didn't.

So I am posting this photo, which I took the other day. It's not really a good picture for today. It rained today. It wasn't much like this photo shows. But, the photo is more artsy.

Yesterday - Your oldest memory - What were you doing 10 years ago?

I think my oldest memory is of Gram Rodger's house in Elizabeth, getting in trouble for purposely stepping into the dirt she had just swept up in a room. She swatted my butt, and it didn't hurt, but I was very insulted and cried. And then everyone got mad at her.

Ten years ago... lets see, it was 1998. My boys were 8 and 6. I was probably babysitting and freaking out because I had too much to do, getting ready for Halloween. I was still friends with Jill, and I was probably shopping and on the phone with her. I thought about her this morning, too; I daydreamed about calling her up, and asking her what she could possibly be thinking? I regret not being friends with her anymore, but not enough to call her.


Today -Your first thought today morning - If you built a time capsule today what would it contain?

My first thought when the alarm rang was, "ALREADY? IT's still DARK OUT!"

And if I built a time capsule today... assuming it's a time capsule to save something about this day, and not a time machine in which I can travel...I really don't have any idea. Sorry. Ya got me on that one.


Tomorrow - This year ….What do you see yourself doing 14 years from now?

This year is a big year, and I should find out what Frankie will be doing for the next four years and how that will change our lives.

And 14 years from now, I should still be working for the school system, and I'll have10 years to go before retirement. I'll have more time to paint and to write, and to read. I'll probably be lonelier, with the kids gone, but I'll still have Frank, and hopefully four or five grandchildren. Wow! That would be great!

Tagged!

Pink Dogwood tagged me. I copied the questions here... but I'm gonna do them tomorrow. I spent all evening at scouts, then watched the Mentalist on TV, and THEN got on the computer, and now I've gotta get to bed! So check back tomorrow night, OK?

~ The tag copy ~Two questions in each category answer them and then tag your friends from the blog-o-sphere. (Simple enough right) Leave a comment on their blog letting them know they have been tagged and you are all set.

Yesterday - Your oldest memory - What were you doing 10 years ago?

Today -Your first thought today morning - If you built a time capsule today what would it contain?

Tomorrow - This year ….What do you see yourself doing 14 years from now?