Castle in the Clouds

This guy....

Well, my dad used to call me Peanut.  It's been a long time since he's called me that, though, so I'm not sure it counts anymore.   On the other hand, my hubby has finally settled on what he considers a keeper of a nickname: Weez.  I don't know.  Really.  I don't.  It's not like I have asthma or anything.  

Plans:  Scrapbooking weekend with Jessica, Carrie, Ronnie, and Margarett in March.  Can't wait!! A weekend at an indoor water park with the family and my BFF and her (extended) family this spring.  A week of camping at Silver Lake campground on Michigan's western shoreline this summer.  Getting a puppy once the weather gets decent.  I've been looking at pictures of Morkies.  Oh, my.  Signing up for fall and winter classes so I can finally graduate! Dreams: Winning the lotto or making millions of my self-published book(s).   (It's a dream...go ahead and laugh, I am.) Selling a book or two or three to a traditional publisher.  Throwing away everything in my closet and dresser and going on a shopping spree.  Vacationing all over the world with my hubby and our boys.  Being able to quit my job and stay home to work on pursuing dreams 1-4.  Goals:  Write, edit, and publish book #2 under my alter ego's ide...

Huh.  This is fantasy at its best, right?  Pick someone who has it all and project yourself into their easy, peasy place in this crazy world.  Only I don't think there is truly such a thing as a life of ease.  Sure, some people have it better than others.  Some even appear to have everything a person could wish for: wealth, privilege, intelligence, personality, and luck.  Yet, I really think that even the most blessed have their dark days.   So, what if I switched for a day and it ended up being the worst day ever in their existence?  What if I picked them, we switched, and everything went wrong?   Yikes.  And this question doesn't imply time-travel, but let's just stretch the possibilities.  Would I want to go back in time and be a younger me for a day?  And what day would I pick?  Sometimes, I think I would if given the chance.  There are a couple of days in particular I wish I could go back and chang...

Thought I'd change it up this time. I have no idea how old I am in this picture, but I'd have to say its somewhere between 6-9 months. I wonder if my mom made the dress?  It's possible.

First, let's just acknowledge the obvious.  I'm running behind.  Today is January 20th, but I'm on Day 15 of the meme.  Oops.   Okay, so here goes...a random sampling from my ipod. These are the first ten songs the shuffle feature decided on. Apparently embedding is not allowed with this one, but here's number 3: Gotta Be Somebody by Nickelback Not official, but they try to get the lyrics right. and..

I've got to start with these.  This is the core of my family - my hubby, my boys and me. This is the most important family unit in my life.  Of course, I have other family members that are important to me.  People I love and care about.  People who make me laugh and piss me off like only they can.   Of course I was talking about my siblings. Can't have siblings without parents... My Mom My Dad, Grandma, siblings, nephews and nieces.

I'm sorry, but I can't do this.  I can admit that I've been hurt, may even still be hurting, but that's not for public consumption. Instead, let's go with something cute and fuzzy...in theory.  Besides, this one seems fitting as it's been snowing all day today.

I don't remember when I first stumbled across someone's blog.  I don't even remember who that someone might have been.  What I do remember, though, is when and why I decided to start writing my own blog.   Many, many moons ago, I joined some online writing communities.  Two of them.  The first was a rather small, eclectic group of people.  Although I wouldn't swear to this, I believe they were using Yahoo Groups or something similar.  We had discussion boards that we used to communicate and, if I remember correctly, which is never a guarantee, we had a place to store our Word documents for review.  I'm not in touch with anyone from that group anymore, but I remember a couple of names.  Eric.  Lola.  (Both were - and likely still are - very talented.)   Then I found Forward Motion .  Wow.  This site was home to an insane amount of writers, writers for every genre.  I quickly joined.  At one po...

I'm a picture-taking fool.  Seriously.  I am rarely without my camera, which means I'm usually pretty good about capturing pictures of other people doing things.  I've got the sports, major life events and holidays covered.   Granted, I don't always have the "good" camera with me.  Sometimes lugging the DSLR around is either not an option or its simply not appealing, which leaves me with my little point-and-shoot that I keep in my purse.  Or my iPhone.  I've also gotten pretty good about handing my camera off to others so I can have photographic proof that I was there and I did that!  Here are just a few samples of me and my friends doing what we do.   Me and Chrissy (my baby sister)  with some ConFusion panelists. 80s fest. Relaxing in the Adults Only Pool at Cedar Point with my BFF, Terri. Jessica, me, and Danielle at Zoe's wedding.  Halloween party with Ken & Terri. Renaissance Festival ...

And by seasons, I mean moods. Today's meme requires a list of songs that I listen to when I'm feeling angry, happy, bored, hyped, or sad.  Oh my.  I listen to a variety of music and my go-to songs vary from month to month, even week to week. I think the easiest to start with is hyped.  This, in my mind, indicates that I should be dancing and singing along despite the fact that I have absolutely zero singing ability.  Tone deaf, perhaps. Here's a song that makes me laugh and gets my feet moving...okay, so I laugh because every time I hear it, I remember this video.   (Be warned, what I find funny, you may find offensive.) When I'm angry, I have one song that tends to get played again and again and again.  Linkin Parks' One Step Closer is the song I play at top volume when I feel enraged or frustrated or just plain ole pissed off. When I'm feel melancholy or sad, this song can really get me going.  I blame it on the fact that I'm a scrapboo...

Hm.  We're supposed to post something we’re proud of that has happened recently, as in the last few days. I'm going to stretch that time limit a bit to include the end of December.  Why?  Because I am damn proud of myself for getting through last semester.  Life got complicated and ugly, it knocked us on our asses, but somehow I pulled myself together enough to get through final presentations and final papers.  Yeah, that's pretty darn satisfying, especially as my GPA stayed right where it was... I feel like I should mention smaller accomplishments, but truly I can't think of any that occurred this weekend.  I mostly stayed home and vegged. The only notable things I did was take the youngest to basketball practice so I could get some pictures.  Oh, and I paid the vet bill.  Otherwise, my weekend was mostly spent reading and relaxing.  I didn't even attempt to get the laundry caught up, which definitely would have been a huge accomplis...

Goal #1:  Exercise at least three times a week.  Yes, this is a New Years Resolution, but it's also a necessity.  I would love to wear even half of the clothes in my closet.  Right now, I'm restricted to about 1/4 of what I own because I'm too self-conscious to wear the majority of what's in those dresser drawers.  Toward this goal, I plan on doing the Zumba workout (PS3 style).  I figure if it makes you sweat, it's exercise! Goal #2:  Figure out the plot and characters for the next book.   I'm not going to be able to write the book until these things begin to fall into place.  I've found pictures for my heroine and her love interest.  I've got the main location the story takes place in.  What I don't have is the main source of conflict or a clear understanding of how the antagonist from book #1 ties into their story. Details.  It's all in the details! Goal #3:  Read.  Read.  Read.  I'm not ...

These three fellas have definitely, hands-down, had the most impact on my life.  They are my life, or at least the very heart of it.   Me, the hubby, and our two boys. First, there's my hubby, Ken.  We've been together for twenty-two years. We started dating when I was a sophomore in high school; he was a senior at a neighboring school district. Six years later we were married.   There are so many ways that Ken has impacted my life.  He's one of the reasons my Mom and I have the relationship we do today - he told me to give her another chance when I felt my heart couldn't handle any more disappointment.  His love and support have enabled me to pursue my education and my dreams of becoming a writer.  Even when things get tough and I want to quit, he encourages me to keep going and never give up on the things I think are important.   He's also a damn fine cook and a fantastic father.  That brings me to my boys. ...

Okay, so I'm behind...I'm going to try to get caught up, but it could take a couple of days with multiple posts.  Before moving on to the topic of what should have been Day 6's post, I thought I'd give you a brief update on what's going on in my life.  Hey, it's an all-about-me type of month, right?  A little sidetracking into current events shouldn't be problematic. Most noteworthy, my Yorkie passed away last week.  He was my little fur baby and I miss him terribly.  My house seems strangely quiet and still without him wandering endlessly throughout the rooms. A Few Days Before the End He was such a sweetie. Things had been rough for him, though, these last couple of months.  If you look closely at the picture above, you'll see the results of unexpected blindness and unsteady legs.  He hit his bottom lip so often that it developed a hole (permanent indent?) from where his bottom teeth would get pushed into the tender tissue whenever h...

Chicago, IL A couple of summers ago we took our two boys on a week long vacation to Chicago. We stayed at the DoubleTree Hotel, just off the Magnificent Mile.  Although we didn't do more than sight see, it was quite fun looking at the wide variety of merchandise displayed in the shop windows.  Moving away from Michigan Avenue, we found some interesting art. The Eye was new.  In fact, I think it was actually revealed during our stay.  We didn't intentionally seek it out.  In fact, the picture below was taken from the MTA bus we were using to get to the museum of Science and Industry.  The Eye That was the only time we took the bus.  We mostly walked to and from our daily excursions, which included the Museum of Natural History and Shedd's Aquarium. Hubby and I in front of the fountain. Playing in the water. Rooftop pool at the DoubleTree. 

There are a few things I'd love to change about myself.  For instance, I'd love to not turn into a raving psycho when sleep deprived.  It's not very becoming.  In fact, it's downright embarrassing.  After I've gotten a few solid hours of rest, I often realize I completely overreacted and went from a kind, compassionate person to a raging lunatic in about 0.5 seconds. The last few weeks have been a true test of character.  I can handle a lot of bullshit when I'm well rested.  And by bullshit I mean stress-inducing incidents.  Sure, I might get angry or aggravated. I might even give in to those emotions and say something I might not have said had I taken a few more minutes to think things over.  Most of the time, though, I like to think that I'm capable of rational thought and reasonable responses.  Deprive me of my sleep, though, and I turn into a nut job.  It's not pretty and it's often inexcusable.  Reason evaporates a...

I think the object here is to post one picture of me with all my friends, but that's simply not possible.  We're never all in one spot at the same time.  Instead, I've decided to post several pictures of me and my friends.  That I have several pictures to post reminds me that I am truly blessed.  Me, Terri & Angie.  A night out with our hubbies, who were sitting just out of the frame. Me & Jessica (my cousin) at the family Christmas party. Me, Tammy and Amie.  Tammy was visiting from out-of-state. Scrapbooking crew at the bar.  Me, Terri, Laura, Becky, Danielle, and Chrissy. The BFFs.  My hubby and I are lucky that our best friends happen to be married to each other.  This makes for great double dates! Me & my sister-in-law, Ronnie.  She's my girl! Although I see a few of these ladies only once or twice a year if I'm lucky, I love each and every one of them.   Yes, I am truly blessed....

Hm.  I think I have my name right there for the world to see thanks to the integration of Google Plus with Blogger...probably not smart. My blog title, on the other hand, seems rather self-explanatory.  I'm not sure what to say about it other than I sometimes feel as if I'd like to live in a castle in the clouds, somewhere far from earth and all the responsibilities of being an adult.  I guess, if I'm attempting for transparency here, that the blog title also represents my wish to live out my dreams.

Yep, that's me.  This was early Christmas morning, fresh from bed.  I don't think I've brushed my hair or teeth yet, to be honest.  I was much too excited about opening presents to be bothered with basic hygiene. I guess that leads nicely into my 15 facts... Fact #1: Even though I pull off being an adult with some success, I'm truly a kid at heart.  Christmas morning is a perfect example.  My children would have slept for who knows how long if I hadn't decided it was time to get the day started.  When my dad found out, he laughed and said some things never change.  I assume this was because I was almost always the one waking up my brothers and sisters - rarely did my brother beat me to it.  Fact #2: Speaking of siblings, I am the oldest of five.  I have two brothers and two sisters.  The boys are sandwiched between us girls. Fact#3:  My youngest sister is from my Dad's second marriage.  Yep, that means I'm a child ...

I've been a terrible blogger.  Random, rare updates have become the norm.  I'd like to change this.  So, while I know the challenge officially started on January 1st, I want to jump on the January blog challenge.  Here's the list of daily writing prompts I will be attempting:  Day 01- A recent picture of you and 15 interesting facts about yourself. Day 02- The meaning behind your blog name. Day 03- A picture of you and your friends. Day 04- A habit that you wish you didn’t have. Day 05- A picture of somewhere you’ve been to. Day 06- Favorite super hero and why. Day 07- A picture of someone/something that has the biggest impact on you. Day 08- Short term goals for this month and why. Day 09- Something you’re proud of in the past few days. Day 10- Songs you listen to when you are Happy, Sad, Bored, Hyped, Mad. Day 11- Another picture of you and your friends. Day 12- How you found out about blogging and why you made ...