New Book--Official Release of "Raw Emotional Lyrics"

So I mentioned this earlier, but now I can make the "official" announcement.

A really good friend of mine named "Poetizer" just got her first book of poetry published. After months and months of hard work--it is DONE! The book is called "Raw Emotional Lyrics."


Proud to say the editing was done by yours truly as well as some of the photos. I took on this project awhile back because the book is truly very good and extremely honest. Here's a slice of the synopsis:

"...My transgressions have been buried in the depths of the earth. The dead skin of life's tribulations has shredded from my thoughts poem by poem leaving a trail of matured wisdom, a vision guided by spiritual reflection and filtered into a soul of purpose. I've carried my cross. My burdens weren't mine to bear. I had to fulfill this task so that others wouldn't have to see themselves in a place of uncertainties, confusion and darkness. I survived life after death…so will you!"

I highly recommend it! Check out the link from the publisher.

Thanksgiving

I wanted to take a second and wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving. One of my Facebook friends made a good point this morning and said that the things we're thankful for today should be the the things we're thankful for all year...I concur.

This is actually a weird/first for me. This year I will not be with my family. My parents and child are on the West Coast--I won't see them until Christmas. The rest of my family is in the midwest and I won't be making the trip up--I have a recording session this weekend and some projects to tackle.

Since it'll just be me--I am not cooking this year. Instead I've decided to volunteer to serve meals and/or deliver food to people. I can't lie this has been a rough year for me--and for lots of other people I'm sure, but considering it can (and has) been worse, I think I owe it to myself to do for someone else. I encourage anyone else to do the same because you never know when you might find yourself in someone else shoes.

In any case...regardless of my situation, here are 10 quick things I am thankful for:

1. My daughter is healthy and happy--and funny and brilliant!
2. I have some great friends who've pulled me through when I needed them
3. I'm writing again (this is a BIG one--because I was on block status for over a year)
4. I've accomplished more than 3 of my "list" goals this year (I shoot for a minimum of 3 a year)
5. I finished my graduate school application last week
6. I'm not where I want to be but I'm getting there--progress is always good!
7. I've managed to stay healthy this year (so far...cross fingers!) despite several people I know coming down with H1N1 etc etc
8. I found out that I have 2 weeks of vacation at Christmas which means more time with the family than I anticipated
9. I happen to like my job and the people I work with...I'm thankful I'm working--been laid off before (twice as a matter of fact)
10. That despite it all--I'm still standing.

Happy Thanksgiving all! Stay safe. Eat well. Be thankful!

Just do it.

So my last post, I asked what people would do if they didn't have to worry about certain things...I posted the link to this elsewhere and received some interesting responses.

I know with everything that's going on in our daily lives it's really easy to forget to dream about something bigger or even focus on accomplishing even the small things. We have this tendancy sometimes to push things to the back burner for "someday" or "later" or listen to the doubters (who may even be our own selves) who tell us we shouldn't do this, or it's a bad idea to do that.

Today I throw all of that out the window.

1. First...for those that read my baby name blog... I'm finally finishing up the text and the plan is to push a book version to publishers (in theory) by the end of the year. Too many people have asked me for it and I figure I've been sitting on it long enough.

2. Tomorrow I am turning in my application for grad school. Those that know me know I'm actually already in graduate school, however...a really good opportunity presented itself to me and I'd stay kicking myself if I didn't at least try to do this. So cross your fingers for me and I will let you all know how it goes in a few weeks.

3. Speaking of books... I mentioned a few posts back that I helped a friend get her book published--the cover and text have just been approved and are going to print. Hopefully (again, fingers crossed!) I'm thinking that the book will be ready by Christmas or just after the first of the year at which point I will post up all the information so you all can check it out.

No more sitting on stuff. I figure if I can do everything I've been doing in the middle of everything else, you have no excuses...lol. So get moving!

On a sidenote--I think I missed this, but I've been doing TTDBYD for a just over a year! If I haven't said so yet, THANKS you guys for all the support

What Would I Do With My Life If...

I was driving in to work this morning...my commute is now a little under an hour since I moved. To avoid traffic, I take a back road that cuts through a Civil War battlefield (Realization: I moved to the STICKS!!! WTH was I thinking??)--one day when it's not raining (like today!) I will have to take some pictures. Anyway, the one upside to this (yes there IS an upside!) is that I get some time now in the morning to think about things and pull together my daily plan of attack.

What are we going to do tomorrow night Brain?
The same thing we do every night Pinky. Try and take over the world.

This morning thought was...what would I do with my life if I didn't have to worry about bills and stress and working?

In theory, I've always said I would put all my stuff (all little bit of it I have left after I condensed it all this go around with the move) in storage, pack a bag or two and spend at least a year traveling the world and writing. I would love to take my daughter along for at least part of that (not all because I don't think she's quite old enough to appreciate it all and she's still in kindergarden). But if I didn't have to think about it, I would just literally pack up and go.

So I ask you...what would you do with your life if you didn't have to think about it?

Item #138- Make a List of 100 Things That Make Me Happy

First I have to say thank you to Amber...you just helped me knock a goal off my list.

I've had the TTDBYD blog now for about a year!

It's hard to believe. The year has been...well I guess "challenging" would be the best way for me to describe it. I've been through quite a bit with life, love, goals etc... and sometimes I think I need to remind myself about the things that make me happy and ultimately make me...well ME.

I set this goal in January. Believe it or not this list was actually a little hard to do, but FINALLY...here it is: My List of 100 things That Make Me Happy

Audrey
a beautiful summer or early fall day
a compliment
a day off
a good rainy day
a great pedicure
a night spent drinking and playing cards/dominos with friends
a really good steak
accomplishing one of my goals
amusement parks
an open mic
back/head massages
beautiful scenery
being the catalyst for someone else's accomplishment
bubbles
cake from Tiffany's Bakery
chocolate…GOOD chocolate
dancing in the house
DC during the 4th of July
discovering out of the way spots that only I know about
doing something nice for someone else
doing something silly just cause I can
dreaming
driving with the windows down and singing loudly and badly
empty notebooks
encouragement
finding a great new song (or an old song that's new to me)
finding money I didn't know I had
finding something beautiful where it shouldn't be
finding the "perfect word"
finishing a poem
fresh flowers
getting a great deal on something I wanted
getting good grades…in grad school (I have a 4.0)
girl's night out
good art
good conversation
good jokes
good music
good sleep
great quotes
hearing a random (but utterly retarded) song while I'm out and remembering a funny moment associated with it
holding hands with someone
hugs and kisses (especially from Drey!)
IHOP
IM chit chats with one of my favorite people
inside jokes
laughing until I cry
learning a new word
listening to Drey when she gets excited about stuff like losing a tooth
live concerts
living!!
loving someone (despite the circumstances)
making a hot new beat
making funny faces at people just to make them laugh
making mix cds
my birthday
my new red computer
new babies
New Year's Day (I always see it as a chance to start over)
playing guitar hero
playing with kids (I'm a big one myself)
popping bubble wrap
popsicles (red or the pineapple ones my daughter likes!)
postsecret and the Sunday morning paper
prayer/God
proving someone wrong about me
rainbows
reading a good book
reminicing with friends
Scrabble
seeing an inspiration story and thinking "I can do that!"
sitting back to watch while my friends perform or record
smiling at people and having them smile back
spending time with friends/people I love
spontaneous road trips
standing on my head because Drey wants to see mommy do her trick
stargazing
stepping out in brand new shoes or a brand new outfit
strawberry ice cream
surprising other people
taking great photos
telling someone one of my hilarious stories
the beach
the moments when I feel extra confident
the perfect margarita
the smell of cupcakes
Trefoil Girl Scout cookies
unexpected surprises
vacations
visualizing my dream trip
watching a great college b-ball game
watching a really good movie
watching Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood (the liquor store scene still cracks me up)
weddings
when things go "all wrong" but we can laugh about it and write it down later
when things go "just right"
winning lottery tickets
writing sessions
yoga

So after 30 days...

So as of this week my 30 day challenge is over...

No I didn't accomplish everything, but..I've most definitely, looking over it all, made some progress...(yeah for progress!! LOL). Of the things that I posted here in this blog...

I did keep up with my blogs relatively on schedule, finish my b-day book, re-do my resume and portfolio--it's snazzy...lol (and if anyone needs a resume revamp let me know!!), I wrote 5 brand new pieces (not 10, but that's ok), did a couple of freelance gigs this month (and one in progress), made time to write, hit up 4-5 venues--I even took protegee #2 out and had her perform for the first time on Monday.

The biggest change I caught in myself is my attitude...to say I have been tested in the last 30 days would definitely be a massive understatement, but where old me would've handled situations a certain way, new me--or should I say, work in progress me-- took time to do things a little bit different...and sometimes uncomfortable. But I feel better about it. :)

I won't make excuses for the stuff I didn't do, although I will say a few things were precluded by the move to the new place (which will be wrapped up at the end of the week). So we start over again and we make some time to set some new smaller goals.

And today I woke up feeling really good...with this song in my head: