Why we blog

Recently one of my fellow bloggers who inspires me in numerous ways, left a post about her struggles with blogging, career, and life itself. And here I thought I was the only one. Initially, I feared her post was a farewell post. Luckily, it was mainly reflection and a musing on losing readers if she mixed up the schematic of her post...adding general commentary in addition to book based memes among other things. How funny it is that even in the blogsphere we worry what others will think of us, will they approve? Disapproval kills us in any form. Why? After all, we ourselves disapprove of things from time to time. I don't think we do more than scrunch up our noses and move on. As humans we seek approval from every angle we can get it. Is it because we don't approve of ourselves? We see the things we think, the things we feel, the hatred, the disgust, every dark thought we have. Perhaps we fear that others, even those in blogsphere, will see the darker sides of us. See through the words into the small ugly parts in us.
Or perhaps, we just bore them and that too confirms we are average; no more special than the next clone sitting in the cube next to us. We all strive to shine in some small way. To shine; to be special; to prove we deserve this existence is one of our biggest goals in this life but it isn't our only goal. I know I lose focus on that from time to time. I want to feel special just as much as the next person. I've come to realize though that there are small moments in life that make me feel more special than all the accolades in the world both in the physical world and blogsphere. A moment of a teenage child thanking you for being hard enough on him to do the right thing but encouraging enough to put a smile on his face. Small moments like reading a blog and realizing you aren't alone in this world. Your thoughts are ok. Someone else is struggling with the same fears. And while you thought you were sinking in those fears, you maybe just far enough ahead to help someone else pull themselves up, dust themselves off, and trudge forward.
I love to write. I love to read. Most important, I love to live. This blog is my little world where I can put down in words the things that compose me...the funny, the dark, the sad, the analytical, the books I love and not love so much...all the things that compose me. That's all I think any of us can do. Put out to the world what composes us and hopefully it will touch someone...help them grow...or simply put a smile on their face (even if because they are so happy they aren't in our shoes). We are who were are and that my friend, is forever changing.

"To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment." ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Sent from my iPhone

Random YouTube entertainment

The following are just random YouTube moments that put a smile on my face. I'm simply adding them here to give you a glimpse at how warped I am and how much professional help I truly need.  Enjoy!



The Techno Nerd in me loves this one.



I love stop motion animation and this is why.



And finally this is my favorite impression of me at that the gym.



That's it for now. I'm going back to the semi-real world. Have a great day!

Teaser Tuesday 9/14/10



Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be ReadingAnyone can play along! Just do the following:


  • Grab your current read.
  • Open to a random page.
  • Share two (2) "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page.
  • Becareful not to include spoilers! (make sure that what you share doesn't give too much away! You don't want to ruin the book for others)
  • Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR lists if the like your teasers!
How to Stay Alive in the Woods: A Complete Guide to Food, Shelter and Self-preservation That Makes Starvation in the Wilderness Next to the Impossible: Originally Published As Living Off the Country (1969 Printing, 0280595) 
"The ability to build a campfire swiftly and certainly in every type of weather that may one day besest us can, at a decisive moment, also mean the difference between existence and finality; and the way to acquire such a skill is a bit at a time over as long a period as possible, using on each occasion only whatever natural materials may be at hand." ~How to Stay Alive in the Woods by Bradford Angier


Ok, truth be told, I snagged this one from my son's book. I'm still sunk in academia and not very interesting academia at the moment. He's really into the whole survival thing lately. After reading this excerpt, I'm wondering what exactly is going on in his head...is he going to drop out of society or does he think things are really going to hit the fan? ha! ha! 

Ok...your turn. 
Please leave a comment with either the link to your own Teaser Tuesdays post, or share your 2 "teasers" in a comment here (if you don't have a blog)

Thanks & happy reading!

Teaser Tuesday 9/07/10

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be ReadingAnyone can play along! Just do the following:


  • Grab your current read.
  • Open to a random page.
  • Share two (2) "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page.
  • Becareful not to include spoilers! (make sure that what you share doesn't give too much away! You don't want to ruin the book for others)
  • Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR lists if the like your teasers!

Communication Mosaics: An Introduction to the Field of Communication
"Now, imagine that someon you don't know joins your friends, and you continue speaking. it's okay if you feel a little anxious, but visualize the stranger as becoming attentive to your communication. Notice how the new person looks at you with admiration." ~Communication Mosaics by Julia T. Wood

Not very riveting to the outsider but I'm a Communications major and I'm submerged in classes right now. No time for fun reading. I had a choice between this book and biology and I didn't want to put everyone to sleep. 

Please leave a comment with either the link to your own Teaser Tuesdays post, or share your 2 "teasers" in a comment here (if you don't have a blog)

Thanks & happy reading!

Twenty five things I want to do in my life.


  1. Be happy.
  2. Learn as much about as much as I can.
  3. Learn to drive a stick shift.
  4. Visit the Grand Canyon. Travel as many places as I can.
  5. Help someone in a major way.
  6. Write a book.
  7.  Gain some discipline.
  8. Enjoy my children while they are with me.
  9. Dance in the rain.
  10. Learn a foreign language fluently.
  11. Have a clean house for more than a day.
  12. Smile more than worry.
  13. Visit Alaska.
  14. Read every book on my TBR list.
  15. Teach.
  16. Learn to love who I am…without changing who that is.
  17. Make my parents proud.
  18. Make God proud.
  19. Cry because I’m completely in love.
  20. Graduate from several Universities…AA, BA, MFA..Ph.D.???
  21. Live to see my grandchildren marry and live happily ever after.
  22. Never be a burden to my children.
  23. Catch a Ninja or find Waldo…whichever comes first.
  24. Run in a marathon (and not want to die afterward)
  25. Make  a new list just like this in a few years because I’ve completed most of this one. 


What about you? 

Category: 1 comments

Reading, Education, & Collecting Credit Hours...

My reading life may be grinding to a halt. I have two semesters remaining before transferring to my baccalaureate program. I'm cramming a nearly full time load on top of a full time job, raising teenage boys and a 20-year-old starting college with a learning "hurdle", and on top of all that, I have some must-do-before-winter home redos...replace rotted flooring...stuff like that.  So to say I have little time to read for fun is putting it mildly.

I do have some things to look forward to. Well, for my nerd wanna be side anyway. I'm taking an astronomy class that deals with measuring the things in the sky. Ok, so it borderlines on astrophysics but hey if I make it through it alive, I can truly say I'm on my way to nerd status.

The other thing I'm looking forward to is submerging myself in academia once again. I needed the break this summer but I can truly say I am ready to hit the books. It seems each semester my thirst for knowledge just grows and grows. One subject leads me to another. Each building the desire to absorb more and more. For knowledge is limitless and with knowledge my world feels limitless.

I have a running joke that I collect credit hours; after all, I have 221 credit hours(and growing) with no degree whatsoever. Truth is, I do love to learn..not just one thing or one group of things but all things. I have decided to focus most of my attention on the communication field. This will not stop me from pursuing my other interests...learning a foreign language, computer software stuffs, sign language, Appalachian studies, creative writing, ok, I could go on but no one wants to bore themselves with my lack of focus.

I'll get the sheepskin to prove I'm worthiness in some else's eyes. I'll carry on and earn more paper...as many as need be...but it won't stop me from following my heart's desire (or brain's desire as it maybe) and learn whatever I want to learn! 


((PS...Just realized this is my 100th post! I should have had a blog party ha! ha!))
Category: 1 comments

Eternal Kiss of Darkness by Jeaniene Frost (Book Review)

Eternal Kiss of Darkness (Night Huntress World, Book 2)I put off reading the second book of The Night Huntress World for awhile because frankly, I was a little disappointed in the first Night Huntress World book and the last Cat & Bones book.  I finally decided since I've been in a reading rut that I'd go ahead and read it. After all, I can pour through one of Frost’s books without looking up.

After finally reading Eternal Kiss of Darkness, I am happy to say I was quite pleased with this one. Even with this book being the story of most readers least favorite characters, Mencheres, I found myself falling in love with this guy. Frost gives a great background on why he’s behaved the way he has throughout all the other books. I found myself actually liking him because of the things he did solely because of the reasons he behaved so badly. The heroine was strong but for a reason. It seems that some strong women in books ate just strong. Kira, however, had things in her life that made her strong or at the least things that caused her to put up a strong front. I was much happier with the events that lead Kira to the supernatural world than I was to Denise's in the first book. It was believable and heart breaking at the same time. It was great how this event fueled the rest of the story in such a believable way.

What I liked about this story was the character development. To take a pretty unliked character, give the back story of why he's done the things he's done and show his regret and self condemning was well handled. The supporting characters brought in  from previous books were true to their original natures and added more than just a cameo appearance in this story. They added sustenance not only to the story but growth to themselves. (Especially, Vlad).

I was disappointed by the last two Frost books but i thoroughly enjoyed this book. Frost went back to her roots with this one and the pacing, humor, and story line was just right. Now I’m once again looking forward to the next Night Huntress book, This Side of the Grave to come out...Spring 2011!

Reading order
Halfway to the Grave