It’s Like Giving Birth On Christmas Day And Having The Easter Bunny Stop By! Red Circle Days Is Out!

There are moments in our lives that are imprinted into our very soul. Moments that don’t require a photo album or memory book for us to revisit them time and time again. Some may bring to life the very feelings of sheer happiness they brought the day we experienced them. Others bring the heart wrenching sorrow we spend years trying to erase. These are moments that don’t need a reminder or a red circle on a calendar date, our hearts wrapping around them much like the tiny box on a calendar, keeping them contained only to bring them to the surface each year. Red Circle Days is a collection of those moments that I will forever carry with me, thought-provoking moments and stories which have left an indelible imprint on my very soul.

Red Circle Days has been released, and is available on Amazon, Kindle, Nook, the Apple iBookstore, and Sarah Book Publishing.

Book signing dates and locations will be announced shortly!

A huge thank you to all, from WordPress for the user-friendly platform to showcase and challenge my writing, to friends and family for the endless support, to the many followers who have liked, commented, and cheered me on from a distance. You have ALL encouraged me on this journey. It truly is a dream come true and a red circle day for me!

Identify Your “Training Wheels” And Smile!

We’ve all met at least one person who treads a little lighter than the rest of us, who grabs life with both hands, experiences it to the fullest. It’s not that they are irresponsible adults. It’s just that their approach to life in general is different from most grown ups. They don’t allow themselves to get caught up in the details. They don’t over think. They just breathe in life’s moments, filling their lungs with each experience, and letting every inch of their body feel the joy life offers. Is it a personality trait inherited from some gene passed down to them from a life loving parent? Or, is it something they learned along the way?

As a kid, I remember being fearless. Yet, now I over think riding a Roller Coaster as I imagine endless frightening scenarios all of which leave my two children motherless in the end. As I climb aboard, buckle my seat belt, then check and double-check it, I’m silently berating myself for being so careless as to agree to this irresponsible joy ride. I am a mother for goodness sake, not some free wheeling teenager doing pop-a-wheelies on her mountain bike (ah those were the days). Nevertheless, I settle in and after a quick plea bargain prayerful talk with the man upstairs, I make a conscious decision to enjoy the ride. It isn’t long before the cars pick up speed, I feel the wind in my hair, and the sheer exhilaration of feeling free! In that moment, nothing can stop me and I feel like I can take on the world!

My kids: cooling off and smiling from the inside out, after a long bike ride.
photo credit: littlemisswordy

Do you remember the first time you learned to ride a bike? It’s that same feeling I’m referring to here. No matter how we approached that bike for the first time, the end result was the same. Once we got going and felt the wind in our hair, we could take on the world. There was no hiding our smile as it traveled from our mind to our face, until it took over every fiber of our being and shone like a Fourth of July sparkler beckoning the world to smile with us! Why do we reserve that full body joy as something to be experienced only by a carefree child?

When I taught my oldest how to ride a bike, her little brother was her biggest cheerleader as she fearfully gave up her training wheels. Olivia approached this challenge in her usual fashion. With much detail, she proceeded to delineate each and every way she could fall off her bike, and each and every injury that was possible. I gave her some space, addressed her concerns accordingly, and eventually she faced the latest challenge in the life of a six-year-old — with determination and a few meltdowns. On the other hand, Evan watched Olivia the first day as he circled her on his Spiderman bike WITH training wheels, and like a good brother and little knight, cheered her on at the appropriate moments. However, on day two he adamantly demanded I take his training wheels off.

Evan’s approach to learning to ride a bike was much different from his sister’s approach. Fearless and with complete faith in his abilities, he not only wanted to go fast but didn’t want me to hold him back. Not a single thought to consequences, injuries, etc. he quickly progressed to riding without assistance in a mere thirty minutes. Their approaches were different, but their end result was the same. They both experienced the same sense of freedom, wind blowing in their face, head tilted back, smiling with their entire body.

This left me thinking about how we approach life. What are our “training wheels” and how much do we depend on them? Training wheels aren’t a negative thing, but definitely aren’t meant to permanently carry our weight. Do the training wheels in our life show up in the form of our friends, our family, our career, our doubts, or the dreams we’ve put on hold? Why do some of us hang on to our training wheels longer than others? Is it because they’ve become so much a part of us that we don’t even realize we’re leaning on them? Are we too afraid to remove them even for a moment for fear of failure? Are we allowing our training wheels to hold us back from that sense of freedom?

Wouldn’t it be great to experience that smile from the inside out…the kind that makes you literally jump for joy just like when you were a kid? Whether it’s a roller coaster, a bike, or life, inevitably the moment arrives when we have to ride all on our own, feel the exhilaration as we pick up speed and confidence, tilt our heads up to the sky, and welcome that cool breeze on our face.

 Weekly Writing Challenge: Truth is Stranger than Fiction

Embracing The Spotlight And Learning From Shadows Cast

Photo Credit: hardwoodparoxysm.com

What does one write after the post that got more attention than a two-year old’s temper tantrum in aisle five of your local supermarket? If you’re me, you write absolutely nothing for days on end because you just don’t know how to follow that. If you’re me, you learn that the spotlight showers you with warm light while also casting shadows. If you’re me, you learn that putting pen to paper or fingers to keyboard is an act of courage that can be therapeutic for both writer and reader alike. If you’re me, you learn that you still have much to learn in this great big complicated world, and that a Weekly Writing Challenge can challenge you on a whole new level.

How often in life have we heard the phrase, education is key and been told to hit the books because you’re nothing without that diploma? It has been years since I have attended an academic institution, yet am still chalking up lessons. I’m not sitting behind a desk attentively listening to the professor and frantically taking notes, but I am still learning. The lessons I’m clocking these days are life lessons and taking notes may not be a bad idea. While I am a firm believer in getting that diploma and striving toward academic excellence, there’s no arguing with the value of life lessons.

How sad would it be if everything we know, we really did learn in kindergarten? There were definitely some good lessons there which many of us should brush up on from time to time. Sharing, good manners, kindness, waiting your turn… basic common courtesy far lacking in our society nowadays. However, let’s face it, the most important lessons are the ones life provides. Life experiences are what teach us how to be better. It’s those life experiences that make us realize just how strong we are, sometimes surprising ourselves more than those around us. While life shows us our strengths and our weaknesses, it also teaches us how to walk through that fire and come out stronger on the other side time and time again.

The thing about life lessons is you can’t sign up for the Tues-Thursday class at 8:00am. You can’t buy the book that will guide you through each lesson, and you certainly can’t get the Cliff Notes. There’s no Dummies book for life. You just have to live it! You have to keep your eyes and ears open and don’t let one pass you by, because I guarantee you it won’t be made into a feature film. You won’t get to grab some popcorn, sit back and enjoy the show, because those life lessons on the big screen were someone else’s not yours. You and I have to take it one day at a time and embrace each lesson life presents because each one is meant for us individually. What we do with it is solely up to us!

If you’re me, you decide to continue writing with your own voice whether anyone is listening or not. If you’re me, you decide to continue challenging yourself on every level. If you’re me, you learn that embracing the shadows as well as the spotlight is a lesson in and of itself. If you’re me, you decide the only way to be is to just be me. As my wise, new blogger friend says, “when you do that there’s no pressure.”

There’s Something Strange In The (WordPress) Neighborhood!

Some strange happenings have been occurring all across the WordPress arena lately. It is all mysterious enough to not only get my attention, but if I was a Great Dane with a speech impediment let’s just say my van would be sporting a “Don’t Bother Knockin” sign and I’d be calling for back up.

Here are just a few Twilight Zone-ish events:

1. Someone didn’t find Ad-libb3d funny, and had the audacity (great word) to insult him. Who doesn’t find Ad-Libb3d funny? What are you from Mars?

2. My reader format was abducted by aliens and replaced with another life form that is nowhere near as friendly.

3. That same reader used to show a blogger’s sweet smiling face (or mug shot depending on the blog), but they have all been shrunk to pin heads!

*Side note: that’s why I started this post with a BIG ASS PHOTO of myself. I was thinking of inviting you guys to join me for BIG ASS PHOTO FRIDAYS in hopes of getting the WordPress gods attention, but that might be too “in your face” no?

4. Anka over at Keeping it Real found a silver lining in the WordPress reader. She did! She even posted about it. Now, no one has seen or heard from her since. You should go check on her.

5. And, Strawberry Shortcake I mean Becca over at 25toFly is flying so high she’s revealing all kinds of secrets over there. She’s not even under duress, and get this…she wants the rest of us to spill the beans too! Gasp! Go see for yourself!

If anyone has any information related to these incidents or witnessed other strange happenings, please come forward in the comments section. I’m sure it’s nothing. Probably just some meddling kids! Although, if Ad-libb3d’s commenter is really from Mars this case may be solved!

In the meantime, I’ll play along with Strawberry Shortcake, I mean Becca and share a little secret with you guys. Here goes nothing!

Everyone remembers their first concert right? The excitement of circling that date on your calendar, the feel of those tickets in your hand, and endless hours of conversation with your friends about how it was going to be an epic night! You chose your outfit carefully, not wanting to look like it was your first concert…didn’t want people to think you were trying too hard. You located the seats in the seat chart in advance, envisioning how close you might get to the stage. And you dreamed of being the lucky concert goer who gets chosen to go on stage or even better BACK STAGE!

Come on, we all had these fantasies about our first concert! I chose my outfit, held that ticket in my hand, FLOOR SEATS! I even waved a cigarette lighter around at just the right songs. It wasn’t epic, but it was definitely a night I’ll never forget. When my husband  and I shared first concert stories he laughed so hard he almost fell out of his chair. And here’s my moment of truth. My first concert was Neil Diamond. What? Did I mumble? Neil Diamond! Yep!

No wonder Mr. I attended Depeche Mode whose opening act was Nitzer Ebb laughed so hard he cried. I guess back then I was more Little Miss Nerdy than Little Miss Wordy!

What was your first concert?

My Word-ly Travels

She loved to read and became so lost in her books it was as if she left her bedroom and stepped into the very places those stories took place. Ever since she was a little girl, she dreamed of faraway places. She envisioned herself traveling around the globe and even outer space. Her dreams were those of a child with no regard for schedules or finances, only visions of new worlds to be discovered, adventures around every corner, and meeting people so different from her they would forever touch her soul. The mountains she’d climb, the seas she’d cross, and the dirt roads she’d leave her footprint on would be experiences she would carry close to her heart and like an old weathered album pull out to relive those travels of years gone by.

Dreams are what life is made of, but sometimes life has other plans. I still have those dreams but haven’t traveled much outside the United States. The blue markers on the map show where I’ve lived. I’ve moved a few times, but all within the United States except for Puerto Rico where I currently live. It’s a United States Territory.

I’ve spent a lifetime dreaming of all the places I wish to experience, yet my words have reached farther than my wildest dreams. In the four short months I’ve been blogging, my words have reached every yellow marker on this map. I started blogging as a way to share my writing, my stories, my random thoughts. I envisioned a small group of folks, mostly family (thank you mom) and friends, reading my posts and maybe clicking the like button or leaving a comment.

Instead, my words have floated their way across oceans, climbed mountains, twisted and turned along winding dirt roads, zipped along busy highways, fluttered through open windows and made their way to living rooms, hotel rooms, kitchens, studies, offices, and bedrooms, backlit on person after person’s computer screen. Thousands of pairs of eyes have focused on my words, read them, felt them, and hopefully were touched by them in some way.

View Larger Map

My words have accomplished the stuff of my dreams. I haven’t crossed oceans to faraway lands or climbed mountains, or left my footprint on narrow dirt roads. I don’t have a weathered album, real or in my mind, of travels to relive. Yet, I look at this map and smile a little. My words have reached so many so different from myself, and in so doing have ignited something in these readers that has compelled them to click that like button or leave a comment, each time touching my soul across the distance in the only way possible.

Thank you yellow markers for opening your homes to me! Thank you Google Maps for my weathered travel album. And thank you WordPress for a first class ticket around the globe!

Sky is the limit: where would you recommend I travel and why?

If you would like to participate in the challenge or read more about it, check it out here >>>>>> Map it Out

Santa Loves My Blog!

Merry Christmas to all my friends, family, followers, and neighbors in the Bloggerhood! I hope you’re enjoying a lovely morning surrounded by your loved ones and a nice stash of goodies. Apparently, Santa (and my hubby) think I should keep blogging, since I found these kick ass shirts under the tree this morning. I also received an early Christmas present last week in the form of a contract with a publisher! All this encouragement may cause me to finally start calling myself “a writer” without stuttering. Merry Christmas to me! Keep calm and blog on my friends!

Holiday Sharing Blogger Challenge

Challenge: Write a post that mentions other bloggers while also mentioning some of your own posts as well. The trick is to incorporate it into your post in a meaningful way. It can be in the form of a story, a letter, a conversation…get creative! Then post a link to your post in the comments below. Don’t forget to link to the bloggers and posts you reference so everyone can reap the benefits of just a few of your favorite things. Give the gift of sharing and share this challenge with other bloggers!

A Blogger By Any Other Name…

Photo credit: just-call-me-frank.blogspot.com

I’ve only been blogging since September 11 of this year. I had been jotting down some random thoughts and sharing them with a few folks, but that day I was compelled to share my thoughts with a wider audience in a formal way. Maybe it was the significance of the date since my first post here was about the meaning behind the red circles on our calendars. Maybe I just wanted to be around more people like myself, who have thoughts or a moment of joy we need to share in order to de-clutter our brains for more stuff. Regardless, I started blogging and never looked back becoming so familiar with other bloggers that I refer to them by “name” even when conversing with friends and family.

For example, I love to share my Milk Duds story with other people and always mention that Chatter Master had an equally sweet story about Milk Duds which is how she found me. Speaking of treats,when I told my girlfriend that Keeping it Real Mom’s son knocked over and shattered a wine glass while reaching for a Halloween sweet, she audibly gasped. The sweetest part was his apology and her beautiful display of patience to the incident. I would have pulled out my Emergency Contact list because I’m a control freak like that. Although, I have exhibited some patience of my own as I waited for Coastal Mom to rejoin us while she worked on her book. It’s okay I was still eating, still praying, still loving while Sass and Balderdash was still looking for a job, Ad- libb3d was still writing jokes, and Creative Liar was well still lying but in a creative way that would make us all proud.

This arena of ours provides a courage by keyboard that encourages our right to share, our right to learn and even our right to bitch because let’s face it parenting is funny, motherhood is an art, and we brave, smart, bold people have every right to help the world see things from our mom’s eye view or whatever your perspective may be. I’ve got a story and you’ve got a story or fat lies and fairy tales or an organized chaos of thoughts that should be heard. No matter what we are sharing, we are touching people, making them smile, making them laugh, making them angry and leading them to that special point when crazy meets exhaustion and you feel like your shoes are on the wrong feet; all while watching a clown on fire like a train wreck of thoughts on the run you can’t peel your eyes from.

I wouldn’t have it any other way. I don’t know what to call most of you other than your blog names, and to me they roll off the tongue like the name of an old trusted friend. Funny how that works. I’m sure most of you refer to me as little miss wordy when you spend countless hours enlightening/boring folks to tears with my musings much like I share Charlotte’s musings too. Strange how you can feel like you know someone when you’ve only seen glimpses of their lives float across your screen, and you don’t even know them by name. Well, except for Danny Breslin and Cristian Mihai who are the king of states but also the opposite of Madonna, and went the route of embracing their real names. If those are some form of stage name guys, I’m not gonna be happy. I’ll have to explain to everyone that I now have no clue where all those sticky notes and quotes I shared with them promising a new free life came from. They’re going to tell me to piss off and there goes the celebration. No daddy drinks or shanpagne all around! I’ll be the sadder but wiser girl. It’s okay…I’ll take it like a grown up.

What? You Like My Blog? Piss Off!

“Nice shoes.” “Great hair.” “Love your outfit today.” All fine compliments, and all compliments that would bring a smile to our face, brighten our day, make us stand a little taller. I’m five foot two and half and I’ll take any opportunity for a little more height, but it’s more than that. A compliment is a positive thing to be shared and received in a positive light. You wouldn’t respond to any of these compliments with a “Piss Off” or a “How dare you?!” would you? Okay, well if you would then maybe you should stop reading and check out my top posts on the right side bar.

Photo Credit: littlemisswordy.com

In the blogging world there are awards. I’m sure you’ve seen the One Lovely Blog Award or the Very Inspiring Blog Award, to name a couple. When I first started my blog, I was fearful the blogging world would be an extended gripe session for those whose friends banned them from Facebook, a larger canvas for those from Twitter who couldn’t describe their gripe in 160 characters or less, or those from Pinterest who just didn’t think one photo would do their gripe justice. Well, Little Miss Can’t Be Wrong, I mean Little Miss Wordy was so wrong!

In the short time I have been blogging, I have encountered some really kind, friendly, positive people who just happen to be extremely talented too. They are positive folks who go out of their way to welcome, motivate, and encourage each other. They share their thoughts, their knowledge, and even their tips for a more successful blog. That’s right! These folks are willing to share their followers and ultimately the spotlight. Not something we often see in our daily lives is it?

Which is why I was surprised when I saw a newbie blogger (even newbie-er) than myself, ask what such and such award meant because they were just awarded one. The response posted in the comments read, “it doesn’t mean anything at all…just like a chain letter.” Well, that’s encouraging (no really it isn’t)! The award may not be the Nobel Prize (no really it isn’t), but it is still a compliment.

It means someone did something every blogger/writer looks forward to no matter how long you’ve been blogging or what your ultimate goal is in doing so.

A) Someone actually read something you wrote.

B) If they are giving you an award, chances are they chose to follow your blog and have read multiple posts.

C) They like your writing so much they have taken the time to go through the award process just for you.

D) Did I mention they actually read what you wrote? Let’s not kid ourselves, if we didn’t want others to read our writing, then we would just keep a diary, with a key, and lock it and hide the diary under the floorboard in the closet, and guard the key with our lives. 

Let’s be honest here. When someone hits that “like” button on your post it makes you smile, unless you’ve had one too many Botox visits. When someone chooses to follow your blog, it makes you feel warm inside unless your Depends are leaking. And when someone decides something you wrote is worthy of being Freshly Pressed, I imagine you feel all the above and then some, unless you’re dead inside!  A compliment is a compliment!

So to those who have decided my blog is worthy of these awards, I say “Piss Off!” (no not really)!! I say THANK YOU from the bottom of my little writer’s heart for taking the time to read my thoughts, my stories, view my amateur photos, and encourage me to keep sharing! To the rest of the blogging world and readers out there, I say “like” my posts, leave your comments, share my writing, and follow me…there is no greater compliment!

Liebster means “favorite” and “dearest” in German…I think.

So…I didn’t make it into the Top 25 Blogs over at Circle of Moms today. Rejection isn’t pretty, but I did feel the love from all those who voted for me.  I did however, get this prestigious little Liebster Award given to up and coming bloggers!

A HUGE thank you to  Mom’s Eye View NYC and Adventures of a Whitty Girl 

for nominating me!

I am really enjoying both of their blogs and recommend you head over there and check them out. Mom’s Eye View NYC is life from the perspective of an Urban Mom in NYC. Being a Jersey girl myself, she had me at hello. Adventures of a Whitty Girl shares her thoughts on being a new mom to the cutest little Owl (her daughter’s nickname) I have ever seen!

I also recommend the following blogs (Doing it here so you don’t feel compelled to have to read til’ the end. You’re welcome!): The Chatter Blog, Motherhood Is An Art, Keeping it Real, My Chocolate Soul, Inner Angels and Enemies, 1 Story a Week, A New Free Life  I had a hard time determining total followers on some blogs, so some of these may have more – regardless, happy reading!

1. If you could give your 13-year-old self one piece of advice, what would it be? Nothing ends up being as monumental as it seems at 13.

2. Are you a social butterfly or a wallflower? Those who know me would say social butterfly, but I definitely have my wallflower moments.

3. How do you feel about roller coasters? It’s definitely a like/hate relationship. I pretended it was fun recently just to convince my 10-year-old to ride!

4. Hardest part of blogging? I wish I had more time for it. Sometimes, I feel like I spit stuff out on the screen just to get the thought out of my head.

5. What time of day are you most likely to blog? I am interrupted a lot while I blog…it’s amazing I write a coherent sentence.

6. Favorite musical artist? Tough one, but saw Lady Gaga last night and she puts on an amazing show!

7. What song do you not necessarily like but can’t help but sing along to? You Never Even Call Me By My Name: David Allen Coe

8. Favorite Actor? Morgan Freeman. I’m convinced I would sleep better if he read me a bedtime story. 

9. Do you consider yourself a dog or cat person? Dog…missing my babies a ton these days.

10. How do you take your coffee? I drink coffee for the protection of others with a little milk and two Splenda.

11.What is your favorite childhood memory? I’ve written about some on my blog. They usually involve my dad and family gatherings.

12. What is your favorite article of clothing and why? My swimsuit, but only because it directly correlates to my being at the beach.

13. What is the best party you’ve ever been to? Latin Grammy Awards 

14. Do you like bananas? Why or why not? Love them, though my trainer insists I should consider them a treat. 

15. What could you spend hours doing, but you are afraid to tell others you enjoy? No answer expected here right?

16. What is your least favorite food? Beans of any kind.

17. Do you watch New Girl? It is the best comedy on television and should be watched by everyone. LOVE IT!!!

18. What is the best Halloween costume you’ve ever worn? Cindy Brady, but only because some little girl asked me if I was Britney Spears. LOL!

19. What is your favorite scary movie? I don’t like them…total chicken I know.

20. Are you a Harry Potter fan? Why or why not? I will only drink out of my ButterBeer mug, you be the judge. 

21. What is your favorite Halloween candy? If you don’t celebrate Halloween, just your fave candy. If you do it has to be one of those candies you only get at Halloween (i.e. Smarties, Sugar Daddies, Pixie Stix, Krackel Bars, etc). I love chocolate, but usually only get Smarties for Halloween.

 

Blog Awards

I just returned from a magical vacation with my family to find another magical surprise awaiting me. While I was gone, I was nominated for two blog awards. As a total newbie blogger in a sea of experienced bloggers, this means a lot to me. I write because it is something I really enjoy doing, and honestly it is a way for me to make room for more thoughts in this cluttered, warped, little mind of mine. The fact that anyone else enjoys what I write is bonus! I take each and every compliment, pat on the back, smile, comment, or words of encouragement pertaining to my writing to heart.

Thank you dianereedwiter.wordpress.com and poeticcreole.wordpress.com. I enjoy both of your blogs and am honored you selected mine for this award.

Next step: Share 7 things about myself which my followers may not know about me.

1. I am most at peace when I am near the ocean. I am an avid sea glass collector. I love swimming, soaking in the sun, walking, reading, playing with my kids or just sitting quietly and taking in God’s amazing creation. It feeds my soul.

2. I have two amazing children who inspire me to be a better me every day. When seeing the world through their eyes, the future of our society, our world, and humanity in general looks hopeful.

3. I LOVE to read, and I inhale books. I devour entire books in a couple of days when they really suck me into their world. I enjoy connecting with the characters and escaping into their world if only for a few days. After reading a really good book, I love hanging onto the feeling of it for days after I’ve finished it.

4. I have been married to my best friend (we met in college) for almost 18 years. My advice to all my single girlfriends is to find someone you know will be by your side through all of life’s trials and tribulations, will laugh with you when life seems to be laughing at you, and will support you and your dreams when life tries to get in the way of them.

5. There isn’t much I am afraid of, but I have a fear of fire.

6. I just started homeschooling my two kids to keep our family together outside the United States. There’s a reason my career was in Public Relations and not teaching, but I’m making it happen for my kiddos.

7. Family and friends are a really big deal to me. I consider myself to be a loyal friend through distance, time, and life circumstances. I’m always available for someone who needs me.

In no particular order, the following are blogs I have enjoyed since I started blogging in the last couple of months. There are so many out there, but I’ve been fortunate to come across these and large or small, they have made an impact on me. I’m sure the longer I explore, the longer this list will get.

http://thebetterthing.wordpress.com

http://bikecolleenbrown.wordpress.com

http://strongfitbeautiful.wordpress.com

http://cristianmihai.net

http://stylishlyinlove.blogspot.com

http://liferevelation.wordpress.com

http://stickynotesandquotes.wordpress.com

http://keepingitreal.wordpress.com