Flowers

I love flowers. I don't consider myself much of a girlie-girl, but every once in a while I find things that make me feel every inch and ounce of my femininity, and flowers are one of those things. I love gerbera daisies, calla lilies, stargazer lilies, orchids, and gladiolus the most, and that's why they're all part of my bouquets, but there are lots of other flowers I find extremely intoxicating. I'm not much of a gardener, but someday I'd like to learn everything I can about planting beautiful flowers in my own secret spot and tending them with the rain and the sun.

That being said, I don't like buying dead flowers. I just don't. I think it's a waste of money to buy once-alive stems just to keep them around the house for a few days of beauty. I want potted plants around the house where necessary, but I also love silk flowers (if they're good quality). Afloral.com is by far the best website I've been able to find for the price and quality of real-like flowers, and I can't buy them anywhere else.

With real, live flowers, though, there's something else extra special about having them around. Fake flowers are beautiful, but real flowers are cheerful. Fake flowers make the decor, but real flowers make that decor...vibrate? I don't know how to explain it. There's something to that feng shui or chi or Native American earth-spirits or whatever, because there's an added measure of life in a place with living flowers.

I think heaven has to have lots of flowers.

Water

I have this thing about black & white photography, I adore it beyond comprehension and pretty much anything in black & white is beautiful to me. Some time ago, I downloaded a few photos that fit the bill and today I decided that instead of locking them away in my own computer I'd share them with all of you, one day or so at a time, and use them as my own muse for whatever I want to write about that day. Today's photo inspires thoughts on water.

My little brother gets baptized today! He turned 8 years old yesterday (my how the time flies!) and I get to play the piano for his baptism today. I barely remember anything about my own baptism, which is a shame since it was such a magnificent event in my life. All I really DO remember is that my dad, ready to dunk me, said, "Are you ready?" and my nervous little 8-year-old self-who-couldn't-swim was like, "No!" And he smiled and dunked me anyway, and I choked on some water and was sent into a coughing fit. At least, that's how my memory tells it. Maybe it's skewed after all these years...

I really love water. I'm not a big swimmer even today, although I love a leisurely swim as much as the next girl and I can effectively not drown. I love what water does to a human body, the way everything feels lighter, the joints ache less, the way warm water especially soothes away time's damages and one can merely "be". I love the timelessness of the ocean and the memories of summer pools and spring riverbanks and I love a good, hot shower in the morning. I'm a fan of drinking water, too, and now that I have a Pur water filter for my faucet I'm not afraid to drink the water my apartment offers! I love watercolors and Jell-O jigglers and soup and tears of joy and fountains and almost everything else that requires water to exist. Water is a mood-maker and it is beautiful.

Quick Rant

I get really frustrated with people who get upset with me for not telling them things when they, likewise, don't tell me things. And I'm not a big secret-keeper, anyway. My facebook or my blog pretty much spells it all out there, if anyone cares to look. My family, in particular, is really bad about communication. The little things are bad enough, and hurt just as much, but even the biggest things don't get spread around until the most inopportune times, and everyone still feels like getting mad at everyone else when no one tells them anything. Sometimes I just want to scream!

Okay, I'm over it. I gotta shower and stuff, I have a sister in town that I get to take shopping and buy her a new outfit that makes her look "girlie". I have such a soft spot for this sister when it comes to spending money on her, I can't help it. I'll be poor this semester, for sure. :)

Chicago, take 2!

Paul & I went up to Chicago yesterday, mostly for the purpose of picking up some things he left there over break, but also to get away during this last week of holiday vacation and see some other sights in his hometown. This time we went to Chinatown, Rainforest Cafe, an outdoor mall where we picked up some Frango holiday chocolates for 70% off, and back to his family's place to visit and pick up everything, have our FHE, etc. ...oh yeah, and pick up some Dunkin' Donuts on the way back. :) It was a fun day-trip and I'm glad I got to come along for the ride! Here are some pics of the happy Monday...it only would have been happier had I remembered to take along my ear antiseptic (I got my ears pierced over the weekend) so that I wouldn't have to panic about infection!

My big strong Atlas-Man. :) And below are the stars up above us...

Mmm...Frango! Apparently it's a Chicago thing.

2008 in Summary

I came up with a rather dandy newsletter for the year, but if I didn't send it to you it's because I don't have your email address saved in my contacts. If you're curious, send me a message at omadarland@hotmail.com with your email addy and I'll zip that right over to you. :)

Pics and tales of the holidays to come...right now I'm getting ready to head off with Paul to the bookstore! (Can life get any better than having a man who loves books as much or more than you do? I submit that it cannot!)

Happy New Year!

Character Interviews

I was nosing around one of my favorite blogs for creative writers, pymprompts.blogspot.com, when I stumbled upon an idea that I tweaked and thought I'd share with everyone. The idea is basically this: before you start a story, or if you're stuck on what to do next, pull away for a bit and examine your main character(s) in-depth. Interview them with these questions, and any others you can think of that might be pertinent, and you might find yourself knowing where to lead them next. If not, you'll at least get to know them better, which is always important for a writer if you want to write well. :) If any of my fellow-writers comes up with any more great questions, please let me know! I added about 20 to the list from PumpingYourMuse already, but I'm always up for more!

Relational:
How old are you?
Who do you look like? Your mother, father, or someone else?
Do you have any brothers or sisters?
Are you married or single?
Do you have someone you care about?
Did you or do you know your grandparents?
Is anyone in your family famous?
Are your parents still living?
Are you adopted?
Who is your best friend?

Personal:
What do you like to drink?
Where did you grow up?
Are you a morning person?
What are your hobbies or interests?
What nervous habits do you have?
Do you have any quirks, secret talents, etc?
What kind of music do you listen to?
What do you do for a living?
What is your education level?
What's your favorite food (or drink)?
Do you travel much?
What do you hope to accomplish in the future?
What burning question(s) do you want answered?
What (or who) haunts you?
Do you like to read?
Where are you going?
How can a person cheer you up when you’re sad?
What’s your biggest secret?
What is your biggest regret?
Do you have any allergies/health problems?

What is (or was) your favorite subject to study?

Which Describes You Best?
Nervous or calm?
Teacher or student?
Leader or follower?
Brave or fearful?
Religious, superstitious or neither?
Humble or proud?
Tall or short?
Long hair or short?
Honest, stretch the truth when necessary, or all out liar?
Introvert or extrovert?
Lover or fighter?
Reactive or proactive?
Creative or Paint-By-Numbers?
Popular, Liked, or Loner?
Spontaneous or a planner?
Dreamer, cynic, or realist?
Philanthropist or Scrooge?
Clueless or Quick?
Organized or chaotic?
Trusting or guarded?

Complicated or What-you-see-is-what-you-get?

The Twelve Days of Christmas--12 (and final)

Paul really outdid himself on this one: "10 of these and 2 of these will keep you warm and cozy while I'm away..." Ten fingers & two arms, as pictured below--and the hands are detachable and filled with rice so I can pop them in the microwave anytime and use them as a heating pad! (Although, I'll have to find some fleece gloves to cover them because the rice spills out of the knit ones.) :) And yes, he stuffed and sewed the whole thing up by himself, by hand. What a catch I have! :) Of course, I'd rather have the real thing there with me on holidays, but our time will come soon enough. This is our last Christmas as singles and we're determined if not to enjoy it, then at least to grin and bear it. :)

Merry Christmas to all! I hope this time fills you with gratitude, love, and celebration of togetherness. May you stay warm and healthy, and may Santa bring you everything you really want this year. :)

The Twelve Days of Christmas--9, 10, & 11

A daydreaming prince, a sleeping duke, a lyin' king...Lion King! (9 lives...)

Ten is made of a line and a ball. The written clue looked something like this: l O o. Well, if you put those together differently, it looks kinda like this: o---O, which kinda looks like a Skip-It, which is what day ten's present was.

Eleven little letters on a little heart carried by a teddy bear ornament: "BEST TEACHER".

:) Day 12 is going to wait until either tonight or tomorrow, right before Paul leaves for Chicago. Curious...

Writing Club--The First shall be Last :)

For this prompt, we took the last line of our favorite poem and turned it into the first line of our own original poem. Mine's from Archibald MacLeish's "Ars Poetica":

a poem should not mean, but be.
as dewdrops freezing on a flower petal,
or bumpy itch from the stinging nettle,
the laughter from a tiny child
as he stomps through strawberries grown wild,
a poem dances on the world’s tongue, free.

a poem is the cover of our waking sleep.
it tilts and rises, sways and falls
over model planes and porcelain dolls
and bumps against the nightlight thrice
whilst whistling through sugar and spice,
and up the pipes like a chimney sweep.

a poem is an Artist’s masterpiece
it frames itself in frivolity
and cultures inequality.
it’s painted fears, love, wonder,
our triumph blended with our ev’ry blunder.
it defies the meaning, seeks release.

a poem should not mean, but be…
to puts our insides out to see.

The Twelve Days of Christmas--8

8 Disney Princesses! Aside from being Disney, which gets an automatic A in my book, and aside from being figurines, which takes me back to my youth when Charissa & I would play with "Thumbelinas" and Polly Pockets for hours and days, this mostly makes sense to the Ya-Ya's, my old college roommates. One day my roommie got "Sleeping Beauty" on DVD and we all took the Disney Princess quiz to find out which princesses we were. Some of us took them multiple times. :) But the long and short of it is that each of us were tied to a different princess, which was pretty amazing, and so these Disney princesses became a part of us:

ME: Belle

Mel: Snow White

Erin: Ariel

Shirley: Jasmine

Jamie: Cinderella

Clair: Sleeping Beauty

I've been looking for some Disney princess memorabilia to take with me as gifts/souvenirs for our reunion in Summer 2010, and these are a perfect go-along to what I was thinking! Happy days! PLUS there are two princesses that came along in this package that I get to keep because they weren't on the Disney princess quiz. I'm pretty stoked! :)