in this moment

November 14, 2013

bedtime

sent my boys to bed hours ago
stayed up for quiet time
love seat dozed
lulled by ticking clock
soothed by wind chimes
chiming from back deck
woke up enough
to decide to go to bed
took Blue out fast
wore my fuzzy slippers
the night sky is clear
the moon and stars are bright
saw Orion
smiled
hustled back inside
the wind is blowing
like it’s going to storm
I haven’t checked radar
just an intuition forecast
that, and I saw a sundog in the sky today
driving my oldest boy home from school
a rainbow in a cloud
I love those
I never think they are saying, “rain is coming”
I think they are a gift from God saying, “My promises are real. My covenants, like the rainbow I gave Noah, to say I’ll never destroy the Earth by water, ever again. Trust Me. I got this.”
fanciful perhaps
but it works for me
even if rain follows too
I love rain
it soothes me
as does being cozy, warm inside my home, listening to the blowing, gust of the wind, not worrying over rain, sleet or snow one bit, because there is a new roof now, in gorgeous burnt sienna shingles
win-win
no matter what
happy thoughts
as I finally tuck into bed
a l’il after 1:00am

November 14, 2013

November 8, 2013

day by day

“We make plans and God laughs.” I seriously said that aloud earlier this week, on Monday in fact. Like a “bring it on” idiot. Plans change. Sometimes fast. Thankful it’s just flu, and nothing worse. My Grandpa will still turn 98 tomorrow, just without us there in person. We’ll be there in spirit, and keep our germs at home. We have everything we need and will all be A OK soon. I boarded the dog anyway. That too is for the best. Funny thing is, in 20/20 hindsight, I scheduled more things this week than I’ve attempted all in a row for awhile. When first my youngest son was sick on Sunday, I started rescheduling, canceling and shuffling things around. The things meant most to happen did – like helping K3 finger paint, getting groceries (more jello), and visiting fast with friends. My oldest son knew I planned to call both boys off school today, so he diligently worked ahead. I had hoped he’d dodged this bug, but the 8th grader has it now. “Confirmed” like on MythBusters. Quarantined too. That’s what’s happening at my house. Happy Friday and wishing good health to you!

November 3, 2013

NaNoWriMo Pep Talk

The beauty of NaNoWriMo is there is no teacher waiting to grade what you write at the end. You can let the words flow as they come to you and write anything you want to. Advice I’ve read says write, write, write and don’t edit as you go. It is about completing a 50,000 word count, not a poised and polished final result when midnight on November 30th rolls around. Just begin. Getting started is often the hardest part, then see it through. (Says the woman who started NaNoWriMo the past two Novembers and this year decided I did not need the added pressure. Though I have the beginnings saved and am determined to begin again and finish soon.)

I initially wrote these words of encouragement to a Facebook friend, then I held up the mirror and realized I needed them too. I should get back to my own NaNoWriMo dreams. It is time to stop dreaming and Do.
~ Janean

November 3, 2013

October 3, 2013

Chicken Italiano laughs

Supper was nice. The three of us sat down to eat. Then, my oldest son spilled half his drink onto his plate. I was glad I cooked a bunch o’noodles because there was plenty to dish up more. Erin, my friend since second grade, and my mother remember the story I told next… About the night I made crockpot Chicken Italiano long ago, a nice supper. I can’t recall the year right now, but my oldest son cried all through supper about it being, “the worst day ever” because we expected him to taste/try the delicious food I’d made. My husband picked out all the tomato chunks out of the pasta sauce and left them on his plate. Then my youngest son accidentally spilled his ice water into his dad’s lap, at which point my husband’s plate, with uneaten tomato chunks, flipped into the sliding glass door blinds. I made a nice supper!!!! This is what happened instead that night. I remember. The boys laughed tonight in the retelling. There is more to the story, but it is a Blue-emergency. Today was/is A Good One. Best of all, it’s not over yet.

October 2, 2013

October 2, 2013

a pasta smile

Cooking TIE fighter pasta for supper tonight. That’d be “farfalle” or “bow ties” for the rest of you. My husband came up with the Star Wars name to convince our sons to try eating pasta in a new shape. The name stuck. Tonight when I said I was cooking “tubes” or “TIE fighters” my oldest boy requested the latter. I’m cooking it using the super fancy, really nice, saucepan with a strainer insert that my husband and the boys gave me one Christmas. (This was a week or so after I tried to drain the pasta fast, using just the saucepan lid to drain the water, and instead poured our supper into the sink with the garbage disposal.) Oops. May the force be with you.

October 2, 2013

September 26, 2013 Image

Loving my backyard hangout spot, with my jean-clad butt plopped on a corner of the patio, not in a chair. My bare feet are in the grass and my toes are tapping and I am singing along to the Praise songs playing from my ipad mini. I’m posting this via mobile of course! My silver laptop, with letters long ago worn off the keys, awaits. The luxury of a full keyboard is a new one, after writing so much tapping via a tiny touch screen. That Birthday Dog is eating grass. Ugh. Best of all, the oven timer just went off, which means later today there will be a delectable chocolate cake. Maybe it seems silly to you to make all this fuss over a dog’s birthday, thinking, “Two years old, big whoop. He’s a dog.” It’s so much more than that though, as most things in life are. There are many layers and undertones. We bought Blue seven months into my husband’s two years and three month long cancer fight. That dog saved me. Blue got me out of the house and under the sky, at all hours of the day and night, walking, moving, and helped me take off the stress induced, comfort food eating, weight. A month ago my husband’s soul went to Heaven. He is no longer in pain. It was four weeks ago on Monday, but it is a calendar month today. Since I was a young girl being outside made it better. Whatever “it” was in my life, being outdoors soothed me from the inside out. I need the grass between my toes, the sun on my face and the breeze blowing my dark brown hair. Blue knows Outside Makes It Better too. He’s a really smart pup, my Blue. I love him more than I should, but that’s the beauty of love, you don’t divide it, you multiply it. A lesson from my mother. She’s really smart too!
~ Janean

September 26, 2013