NaNoWriMo 2012 - Day 30

NaNoWriMo Day 30 - 

     Do you see that my peeps? Over there on the right? Yesssss!!!! The badge of honor. I did it! I really, really did it! It took me five years, but I won NaNoWriMo! I now have over 50,000 words under my belt in one month toward a completed novel. The story is not done and the editing will be a challenge, but with a 50,000 word start, I'm good to go! It's a sweet mess right now but it's my mess and it feels sooooo good!

I love writing.  I love the swirl and swing of words as they tangle with human emotions.  

~James Michener

There are thousands of thoughts lying within a man that he does not know till he takes up the pen and writes.  ~William Makepeace Thackeray

Novel writing is serious business!

Faith Continued

 I did not choose this year's word.

It chose me.

Faith

At first I was scared.

That's how I roll.

Fear.

How am I to tackle a year of faith?

I don't even know if I have faith?

What does faith even mean?

Letting go of control?

I work hard to have the little control I have!

That's when I realized that faith is the opposite of fear

and I have always lived holding the hand of fear.

My challenge is to drop fear's hand and pick up the hand of faith.

Faith

is 

trust

letting go

dreaming

believing in something bigger than ourselves

 

We get one shot at life

We must choose how to spend it.

Live dying

or

die living.

Faith.

Yeah.

I could use a good dose of that.

I'll give you five reasons I am choosing to work at walking in faith.

Christmas Day Nature Hike 2012

Faith Quotes

Faith is not without worry or care, but faith is fear that has said a prayer.  ~Author Unknown

Faith is courage; it is creative while despair is always destructive.  ~David S. Muzzey

As your faith is strengthened you will find that there is no longer the need to have a sense of control, that things will flow as they will, and that you will flow with them, to your great delight and benefit.  ~Emmanuel

In faith there is enough light for those who want to believe and enough shadows to blind those who don't.  ~Blaise Pascal

Faith can move mountains, but don't be surprised if God hands you a shovel.  ~Author Unknown

Feed your faith and your fears will starve to death.  ~Author Unknown    

2012

Happy New Year!!!!!

Are you a resolution person?

Do you pick a word for the year?

Do you say, "Not for me." and start your new year

where you left off the old one?

I used to make New Year Resolutions.

They lasted a week (tops).

Perhaps I aimed too high.

Perhaps I didn't take them seriously enough.

Perhaps I made them for all the wrong reason.

A few years ago I discovered the "word of the year" in blogland.

A word for the year.

A chosen word to work with for the year.

To represent the year.

To learn from and grow with over the year.

Two years ago I chose 'positivity'.

Perhaps it chose me.

It was a hard year but with my chosen word,

I was able to find and focus on the positive.

Positivity was a good choice but it did not feel deep or close to me.

Last year I chose the word 'focus' for the simple fact that I lacked any and all.

I figured I would choose it as I needed it desperately.

What did I learn from 'fucus'?

1. boy do I need it!

2. the word works better if it chooses you

 3. in order to focus, you must first know what you're focusing on

4. it's hard to focus with chronic pain

5. with a hubby and four kids, it's nearly impossible to focus!

(By year's end, I had completely forgotten my word, and it was 'focus'. Go figure.)

With 2012 quickly approaching, I started toying with a list of words.

I tried each on for size. Played with them, spoke them, wrote them.

Nothing seemed right so I gave up.

That's when the word of 2012 whispered in my ear.

My word for 2012 is

FAITH

... to be continued.

Do you have a word of the year? A resolution? Please tell!

Justification

Justification - A magical word that can turn any bad idea into a good one. 

*wink*wink*

Today's Dove dark chocolate says, "Take good care of yourself. Love, Dove"

Testing... 1...2...3..

The new year has brought many challenges.

From relationships to finances to family security.

I thought perhaps I had chosen the wrong word of the year.

Perhaps it should be

challenge

or

cope

or

conquer

or

hope.

Then I realized the universe is testing me.

My word.

Focus

Amidst the challenges I must keep focus.

My beautiful daughter was born with poor vision.

What the doctors describe as legally blind.

With strong prescription lenses

her vision is brought to normal.

Every morning upon waking

she reaches for her glasses

as the world is just a blur

without them.

There is never a fuss nor a fret.

Not a worry in that pretty little head.

She puts on the glasses

focuses

and carries on.

My mind's eye must have been born legally blind.

Thoughts stumble and wander aimlessly around

finding it impossible to focus.

I look at my daughter and find inspiration.

A simple correction of vision.

Acceptance for what is.

Focus and carry on.

Trying to Focus

My mind wanders a thousand miles a minute. I grasp at a thought and hold on desperately. "Stay with me. Stay with me." I plead silently in my mind. Off it goes to gallivant with the other dreams, memories and tasks dancing and prancing and playing their little tricks on me.

                                                                  Focus

                                                                           Focus

                                                                                    Focus

That silly little word that decided to take up residency with me for the year. It is quite apparent why the choice was made to take him in. He knew I needed him and perhaps he was lonely without me. So we continue on building and bonding and learning to live with each other. 

Since I seem to have a major case of child-induced mommy ADD I'm never sure what I am supposed to focus on at any given time. My goal is to be able to focus on whatever task is at hand and move on to the next with the same sense of presence. So far it's been a struggle but I am definitely learning and growing.

Here's hoping your words are serving you well so far this year.

(messing around with mixed media encaustic collage)

Focus

I chose my word for the year.

Actually, it chose me.

Earlier on I had a different word.

One I picked. A good one.

An obviously-not-set-in-stone one.

One day I took a shower.

In the shower I asked for guidance.

So much I want to do, learn, experience and accomplish.

So much that needs to get done but never does.

It seems quite impossible due to the million directions I am pulled daily.

The distractions, the clutter and mess of large family living.

The crazy pace that lives seem to take.

Practically pleading for an answer

a word came to me.

One word.

Focus

Makes sense.

I tried the word on.

Ran some errands.

At the store, a book would catch my eye.

Stop me in my tracks.

I started to page through.

The word came again.

Focus

Grocery store. 

I have a list.

There's a sale.

Start looking over sale items.

Not on list.

Focus

Driving in the car.

Mind running a million miles an hour.

Almost miss my turn.

Focus

I kept the word in the front of my mind for days.

Tried it on for size.

Focus

It seemed to keep me on task.

Perhaps this is the perfect word for 2011.

But what should I be focusing on?

Is that really the best word?

After all, I replaced my original word 'compassion' with 'focus'.

Was that the best choice?

Should one really give up compassion for focus?

Can't I have both?

I'm already compassionate, do I need to work harder at it?

Obviously what I need to do and seem unable to do is...

Oh drat. There goes that silly brain of mine again.

Question. Analyze. Doubt.

No. No. No.

Just FOCUS!

(obviously I need it)

I sat with the word for weeks.

Played with it.

Stroked it.

and finally accepted it.

My word of the year.

Focus

I woke up today (or rather was woken up after five hours of sleep).

Focus

I had images in my head of a creative way to portray my word here.

Focus

Couldn't find the blocks I wanted to use.

Daughter begging me to help her with a project.

Ask her for patience.

Focus

Decided on a different approach.

Husband made me sit down and eat.

Daughter still pulling me toward her project.

Focus

Boys start waking up.

Cat needs shot. Still won't eat. Offer treats and love.

Focus

Set everything up to take picture for blog.

Camera battery is dead. Shit!

Focus.

I'll post without picture.

Walk back upstairs.

Daughter now in tears because I will not drop what I'm doing to help.

I drop what I'm doing and start doing what she wants.

Shit! Stop myself and ask once again for patience.

"I'm almost done honey."

Focus

Here I am. Finishing what I set out to do.

It took me well over an hour.

 There were many distractions.

I was being pulled.

The post is done.

It wasn't the outcome I intended.

But here I sit.

Finished.

Focused.

Off to help Darling Daughter with her project.

I bet she lets me focus!

*wink*

One Word Wednesday - Cock

Buha ha ha ha ha !!!

Made you look!!!!

Damn. I think the joke's on me.
Is that a male? I think it might be a female.
At any rate, it's one purdy bird.
Now I've officially screwed up my one word post with too many words.

Have a brilliant, fun and spontaneous Wednesday!!!