Someone on a friend’s Facebook page made the mistake of publicly wanting a meme done in her profession. I am so easily encouraged. I made her this. She’s a massage therapist in case that’s not obvious. 
Massaging Ryan
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Every Day is a New Day
I don’t have time to blog today so I’m writing up my morning check list here. Two birds, one stone and such.
Kids dropped off on time. CHECK.
Stretch, roll, and yoga poses with my dog. CHECK.
Browse & Apply Freelance writing jobs. CHECK.
Spontaneous burst of jumping jacks. 1 burst out of the 3 that should be done by this hour. SEMI CHECK.
Morning dose of apple cider vinegar. CHECK.
Sipping green smoothies & water all morning instead of sweet tea and eating chips. CHECK.
7 out of 12 writing assignments done already and not even lunch time. CHECK IN PROGRESS and ON SCHEDULE.
Not bad but I am striving for blog posts done by lunch every day. Getting up earlier is the key. Just do it!
Tomorrow’s a new day.
Thank you Dan for the beautiful picture.
February is Gos Month – For Some
I was excited to learn that for the month of February, On Demand was giving Ryan Gosling his own channel. But then I found out that it only applied to Time Warner Cable’s On Demand. I have Comcast and they were featuring not one but TWO James Franco channels – Franco movies and Franco pics. Also Showtime was doing double features. I have HBO. What the heck? Consolation prize – 127 Hours playing on HBO. Mama like.
The Meteor Shower
This idea hit me with giggles while I was reading about the upcoming meteor shower.
Purging Monday’s Posion and Making Time for The Future
Monday! You give me a stomach ache.
Some weeks don’t go well. A sick kid home from school or a spouse off work for a couple days wreaks havoc on a home based business that takes at least a week from which to recover. By the time Friday came around, and I was behind my deadlines and sweating I said to myself, “It’s okay, we’ll work through the weekend.” But then the weekend came. And EVERYbody is home and noisy and needy. AND in that instant to comfort myself on Friday I forgot that the weekend included the Superbowl and a previously promised trip to the comic book store for the new Sonic issue #133. (or was is 233?) So here I am starting a new week, digging out of last week’s hole and watching Monday slip away.
I don’t really have time to do a blog today but since I’m dwelling on a couple of things, the Superbowl halftime buzz and the ulcer growing in my stomach, I thought I should just spit something out about both of them and move on. I already did my halftime spiel elsewhere. So that leaves my schedule and frayed nerves here.
Sigh. But I don’t really want to whine…. So okay – it’s like this - If I peel away all the layers of my workday discontent, it comes down to this. Not enough hours, zero support.
After I drop my kids off at school in the morning I have just over 5 hours to fit in 8 to 10 hours of work. Financially, we need me to work 8 to 10 hours a day. We’re drowning over here. We are school of choice so I have to pick my kids up from school. The first one gets picked up at 2:15. I have to be gone by 2. Now in that time I also need to get dressed and ready at some point. Oh, and if the beds aren’t made, their are dishes in the sink, and/or dinner’s not waiting on the table – my husband wonders, “What have you been doing all day,” I know. That opens a whole new can of worms for a different day, right? And also bleeds into “no support.” Why doesn’t Hubs pick up the kid when he is driving home from work and past the school at precisely the time the kids get out? No idea and tired of fighting about it. Why are there dishes in the sink from the night before? Why am I not waking up to a tidy house in the morning? I have teenagers, not toddlers, afterall. And why can’t anyone stop bickering long enough to allow me to finish my last few assignments for the day? That’s the no support I was talking about.
But if I’m being honest, that ZERO support includes from myself. I get up at 6:30 to get the kids ready for school. Getting up at 5 would allow for a workout and a shower. Which would naturally lend to feeling better and more productive days. And I COULD leave the house after dinner and go to Starbucks to add an hour or two to my work day. That would still have me home by 6 or 7 pm. They should be able to function for that long without me. BUT my family tires me out. By the time dinner is done, and I’ve refereed the arguments and dealt with the bad talk, I’m kinda pooped.
Here’s what I know though. Starting out earlier would make me healthier and give me more longevity through the day and generate more income. It would also allow me to go to bed earlier since I would likely get more work done during the day. It would create a cycle of such goodness that I would win in every way. But I need to break THIS cycle. And drag my butt out of bed.
I should rephrase that. All I need to do be healthier, add more hours to my day, and earn more money is to get an hour and a half earlier each morning?! Piece of cake. Okay! I think I just worked through my issue. It’s all up to me now, right?
Starting tomorrow. 5am. Wish me luck!
You’re welcome
I invented a new drink this summer. I’m going to tell you about it.
I love mojitos and margaritas. The flavor is so good and consumption makes me smile. I don’t find myself jonesing for them or anything, anymore than craving a McDonalds diet Coke so I am confident I am not treading any alcoholic waters or anything. I am just saying they make me smile on many levels. Unfortunately, especially in the case of the margarita, they also make me kinda sleepy. This was a problem over the summer when I had a few days and nights to myself when Hubs & Kids went to visit my Dad at the lake. I spent the days cleaning house and doing projects, the patio screen open I got lost in the smell of mint growing on my back deck and rhythm of my fingers gliding across the keyboard. The bright afternoons turned dark as the sun sneaked out the back door when I wasn’t looking, replacing the soft tings of wind chimes with the chirp of crickets and tree frogs. It was all so lovely except for the part where I got sleepy so early. I wasn’t ready to quit writing so I decided to switch to Mountain Dew White Out for a little jolt. That’s when it hit me. And the mo-go-jito was born.
First of all I have to ask – Have you tried White Out? Even if you don’t ordinarily like Mountain Dew, the milder White Out flavor is worth a try. It’s crisp and refreshing. So try it, yo! For this drink recipe I used the Mountain Dew White Out in place of the club soda traditionally found in a mojito. The caffeine from the Dew is what gives me the energy and is represented by the “GO” in the drink’s name – Mango Mo-go-jita.
Ingredients:
1/2 oz Mango rum. (I prefer Parrot Bay)3
3 oz Mountain Dew White Out
4 mint leaves
1 lime wedge
1. Muddle the lime and mint leaves together for about 30 seconds.
2. Add the rum and White Out
3. Add lots of ice. *Sometimes I add a capful of bar syrup or Agave if I am in the mood for a little sweeter flavor.
Pretty simple right? I bet the mild taste of the White Out would lend itself nicely to just about any drink calling for club soda while it gives you a little extra oomph! Please share if you try it in any new drinks, and we’d probably like to hear about what kind of trouble you get yourself into with all that extra oomph!
“One Million Moms” Bullies Ellen for Being Different. OhThe Irony.
Okay. I learned about a new group today and I wish I hadn’t. This follows right on the heels of the website I learned about last night that I wish I hadn’t. Both left me breathless and scrambled my brain. I’m only going to mention one of them right now. The group is called “One Million Moms.” I am not going to provide a link or anything because I don’t wish to support them in any way. In fact, I’m offended that they use the word “Mom” in their title. As if their causes are in any way associated with any fiber of my being as a mother.
At first glance they seem alright. “Protecting families” hints their name- Too bad hatred and prejudice is their game.
Now I’m not saying that they do not do anything good. I don’t know enough about them or their track record, but judging by what I do know – they are ignorant in the most basic meaning of the word. I am not exactly judging the book by its cover here, but rather a sample chapter titled JC PENNEY OFFENDS TRADITIONAL CUSTOMERS AGAIN. Here are a couple of passages.
“Recently JC Penney announced that comedian Ellen Degeneres will be the company’s new spokesperson. Funny that JC Penney thinks hiring an open homosexual spokesperson will help their business when most of their customers are traditional families.”
“Degeneres is not a true representation of the type of families that shop at their store”
I wonder – what exactly is a traditional family? Also, I would like to see the statistics that describe the JCP clientele. Are there pie charts and bar graphs illustrating the shopping habits of small minded, homophobic, and hypocritical people? That would be fascinating to see, I’m sure.
JC Penney said…
“Importantly, we share the same fundamental values as Ellen,” said Michael Francis, president of J.C. Penney Company in a press statement. “At JC Penney, we couldn’t think of a better partner to help us put the fun back into the retail experience. Moving forward, we’ll be focused on being in sync with the rhythm of our customers’ lives and operating in a ‘Fair and Square’ manner that is rooted in integrity, simplicity and respect. We’re thrilled that she’s joining our team to help convey the exciting transformation under way.”
As a long time fan of Ellen I have to agree with the JCP President. Ellen is fair and generous, fun, and kind. She is modest. Have you ever seen her cleavage? Heard her spit venom or wish ill on anyone? Nope. She values family and promotes respect, integrity, and loving thy neighbor. In fact, she shares more traits with the idea of the “traditional mother” than a group I know of that supposedly represents one million mothers!
You know what does NOT come to mind when I think of Ellen? That she is gay. And if that is at the front of anyone’s mind while watching Ellen’s TV show, that speaks volumes about the person watching, not Ellen herself. Cus you know what Ellen does not promote? Homosexuality. Or any sexuality. She is, however, passionate about the rights of people – all people – to have food, clothing, health, and all other basic needs met, including who to love.
Ellen is the real deal. She’s as near perfect as a person can wish to be and a positive role model for our kids and society. Congrats to JCPenney for scoring her endoresement.
I don’t know what else One Million Moms has highlighted in their portfolio but they are way off the mark here…
“By jumping on the pro-gay bandwagon, JC Penney is attempting to gain a new target market and in the process will lose customers with traditional values that have been faithful to them over all these years.”
The small mindedness of One Million Moms betrays them here. The majority of people who shop at JCPenney will not be offended by Ellen’s role as spokesperson for the company. And unless they are also small minded and judgmental, Ellen’s sexual preference will not even pop into their heads when they hear the news or make the association.
Shame on you “One Million Moms” for endorsing judgment, hatred, and attitudes that do more to incite anger, bullying, suicide, and the breakdown of families, than preserve anyone’s notion of “traditional” family values.
I have a fantasy running joke with Ryan Gosling. Part of the joke is that it exists only in my own mind but I put it out there like it’s real. The fantasy part of the joke is that one day my bud Ryan was digging through his bag trying to find some gum. Big Red to be exact. He couldn’t find any so I gave him mine. He’s always stealing my gum, in fact, and never pays me back. He’s such a gum mooch. For real. Look at him up there bumming some from a total stranger. Even Long Duck Dong, behind him, is like “dude are you serious?”
See what I did there?
The Thirty Day Challenge
This is not my first blog. It’s only the latest of many attempts to make it happen. Make “what” happen, I’m not exactly sure. I bet it involves less wine and that’s probably what’s holding me back. And I don’t mean to imply that my other blogs did NOT make it happen. Because they DID make things happen. They made me think and they generated money. But that’s not the “IT” of which I am in pursuit.
I make money with my other blogs by writing posts that include keywords and links to whomever pays me to do so. I really try hard to keep the posts organic and fit the keywords in smoothly so that they don’t come out sounding like spam or … paid posts. Not that I’m trying to hide that at all. I talk about it openly. But I still want the writing to be good and enjoyable and entertaining.
Generally a blog has to have been alive and active for at least 30 days to be considered for link assignments. I have had this domain name for months, but the blog has only been live for a few hours, therefore it is not eligible for link work. I am excited about this because I can sit down to this blog knowing that it has not been jaded or spammed or influenced by anything. I can write whatever I want without thinking, “I better do my link assignments first!” What better time for a challenge?
SO! I have challenged myself to work with this blog to MAKE IT HAPPEN in 30 days or less. Something big! Something awesome! Something life changing for me. OR it becomes another platform to pimp for money. Challenge accepted!
Hm. I wonder what my “IT” is. Do you have one?
Helping Myself to Get to Know Myself. Again.
Hi there!
I didn’t check myself before I wrecked myself. Now I’m lost and I’ve looked everywhere for me. I don’t know where I could be.
If you are reading this I am shocked. How the heck did you get here? This site is only a day old and I have no idea what I am doing with it. You see, this company Apptivo is a pain in the ass and has my domain locked so that I can’t move it where I want it. I am trying to figure it out but this pain in the ass company Apptivo doesn’t make it easy to contact them or get the information needed to do what I want to do. In the meantime I thought I’d start experimenting with what I want this site to be.
I have a site called CinWrites which is my freelance writing site. To stay in line with some client guidelines I have to stay within certain parameters which don’t allow me to speak out like I’d like. I am thinking that CinSpeaks will be more personal and probably more mouthy. I’d like to talk about everything I love here, as well as what I plan to do, and what I am doing. Maybe even see about connecting my favorite places here – my Facebook, my Pinterest, other websites, and such.
In addition to the usual stuff that I like to yammer on about, I like to make Ryan Gosling memes. I don’t know why but they make me happy for some reason. I see his face there, and I read the personal message in his voice and I get a chill up my spine. Sometimes I make them for other people too. It’s my new mode of greeting card. I might even let people post their own RGMs here. We’ll call it “Life Through RGM.” The only thing is I’m not sure about licensing. I need to research this.
I just now received an email from Apptivo which included an authorization key so that I may make the transfer. SWEET! Maybe you’re off the hook Apptivo!
Shit balls. Fatcow, my beloved host, is now being a pain in the ass and saying I have to purchase a domain credit to extend the life of this domain – even though it doesn’t expire until June. What’s up with that Fatcow? Imma look into it. And in the meantime just play here and get to know my blog. Which is fitting because as I’m sure I will detail in posts to come – I have lost touch with MYSELF and am desperately searching for me. So actually, I am getting to know that blog that is intended to help me get to know myself. I’m helping me to help me. Everything will fall into place in good time. I’m sure of it.
Have you checked yourself lately?