December 31, 2013

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This blog photo made lovingly with PicMonkey

Life is an ocean of dips and swells. And 2013 was no different.

This time last year, I was compiling blog posts about what got me through 2012, and the four words that best described it: struggle, accomplishment, failure, and love. Four words that describe 2013? Rest, love, discovery, and luck.

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Before I launch into this almost really terrible thing, I want to announce that the winner of the $25 Amazon gift card giveaway is Katie Weinhold! Thanks Katie for participating :) I’ve emailed you!

 

Also a note on that. Did you know 82 people participated in that giveaway? With a whopping total of 377 entries! I couldn’t believe the turn out. I’m jumping for joy while sitting and typing and drinking an ice cold Fat Tire. But literally, jumping for joy. I got a few new subscribers too! So if you’ve just subscribed, it’s awesome to meet you, and just wait. You’ve got more opportunities to win gifts coming in the new year.

 

Now, onto the almost really terrible thing!

 

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There a thousand and one reasons why I blog, and half of those reasons are because of you guys. I may not be Seth Godin, but I have a wonderful group of followers and readers that I look forward to hearing from every time I write a blog post. Knowing that you guys are there every time, listening to me rant, giving me advice, and urging me to keep writing, gives me courage, strength, and motivation to write like a maniac, and love every beautiful second of this infinitesimal life.

 

December 18, 2013

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This post is part of a weekly feature called the Passion Series…enjoy!

 

Tonight I’m featuring a blogger I actually know. Well, not really know like in real lifebut a blogger whose blog I subscribed to long before I even started this series.

 

His name is Joe.

 

December 15, 2013

Casa Sanchez

 

“It still smells like vomit in here.”

 

That’s what I said today, as I walked into my bathroom. But let’s back up to Friday, because I really want to talk about this restaurant Casa Sanchez.

 

December 12, 2013

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I’ve been writing in coffee shops lately because there’s a ghost in my apartment.

No, I haven’t really been able to prove it, but every so often some small thing will be out of place, or some small noise will come from the dark that shouldn’t. Some of this stuff is pretty minor and weird, but the other night I was dead asleep and suddenly the buttons on my microwave started beeping. A few nights later it happened again while I was writing. I had a firm talk with it (the microwave of course), but that seemed to make it more difficult to clear whatever buttons were being pushed by some seemingly harmless entity.

So I just unplugged the damn thing.

But ever since, I’ve been a bit shaken up. I think it will get better with time. It only seems to be happening in the kitchen area, which is good because that’s not where I sleep. However the kitchen area just so happens to be right by the bathroom area, so it makes it difficult to creep into the bathroom to do things like brush my teeth and pee, because I’m always so nervous something bizarre is going to happen.

Fear is an interesting thing. It’s a choice. But what gets me thinking about this situation is my upbringing, which let’s face it, was always filled with monsters and traumatizingly scary movies. Not to mention how obsessed my mom’s side of the family seems to be with anything paranormal. All of this factored into it really makes for a horrific experience with what seems like a very innocent little ghost. Also a large part of me feels like my imagination is making it far worse than it really is. I don’t know for certain whether or not there is something paranormal there, but I know weird things have happened and that I live in a super old building. Which means everything from a creak to a horn honking outside makes my heart stop and then race with all kinds of scenarios of me being dragged out of bed and/or possessed or pushed or whispered to.

I should remember my line therapy. I should also remember what my dad always used to say, that it’s all in my head. I do love living on my own but this fear over the past few days has been seriously crippling. I won’t get out of bed to pee or brush my teeth or take my contacts out. I won’t go home after work, I won’t sleep, it’s bad. And what makes the entire thing worse is that I can’t work. I can’t read, I can’t go on the computer, nothing. Crippling fear. And it all started with the damn microwave beeping! Before that I was slightly aware that it could be haunted but it didn’t bother me as much. Now with this whole beeping thing, it’s shaken me up bad.

I think the best solution is to remember that I am never alone, that I am grateful to have a place of my own to bunker down in, and that love is my resistance to anything frightening. I always relax when I remember love. Maybe that is because it’s more powerful than fear.

Now while this strange fear has kept me from being productive at home, I will admit it’s made me 10 times more productive in coffee shops. Since I go to coffee shops to write after work, it’s easier to actually get work done versus doing it at home and being distracted by everything. So by that I mean I’m half way done with my e-book! The one I mentioned last post that I’m going to be giving away as a reward to new subscribers. It’s going to be called “Adult Toys: For Bloggers, Writers, and Wanna-be Entrepreneurs.” I’m going to make it as attention-grabbing as possible, because I know what you’re thinking already you dirty thinkers! But I’m using dirty minds to my benefit. If it shocks and attracts people, then that’s my goal. I’m taking George Lois’s advice on this one.

“Advertising should grab you by the throat, should choke you, your eyes should water, your heart should race, and you should almost pass out. ”

Bear in mind I don’t want you to pass out, but I know that anyone who creates anything these days has to make it something people will never forget. And I’m in the market for creating unforgettable stuff. You’ll probably forget what the e-book was about, or even who the writer was, but you probably won’t forget the title. Or the front cover. Which I’m trying to figure out what I want to be. Something risqué in a crazy blogger, writer, and wanna-be entrepreneur kind of way.

We only get one shot at this life thing right?

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This post is part of a weekly feature called the Passion Series…enjoy!

 

Ever since I started this series, I’ve been so floored by the talent in the bloggosphere. Not just that, the wisdom, the experiences, the level of dedication and true passion these bloggers have for their craft is astounding. I learn something new from each one, and I so look forward to getting to know each and every one of them by what they write, their goals, and their missions to achieve them.

 

Tonight I’m featuring blogger and entrepreneur Brendolyn Marie. She has a lovely blog called The Grey Area, where “nothing is ever truly what it seems”, a place where there is no black or white. I love that concept because some things can never really be described as one way or the other, there’s overlap, there’s confusion. Why try and define something as absolutely one color?

 

Like so many bloggers, Brendolyn has become inspired to create, to meet new people, and find her true calling through blogging daily. She was able to share her writing through emotional times with an audience seeking emotional healing, which then empowered her to become a life and relationship coach. She’s even started her own nail polish line called Liquid Frosting that is beyond gorgeous. Reading about her journey as an entrepreneur in particular is enough to get anyone (especially yours truly) to buckle down, and finish that ‘big something’ they’ve had on the back burner of their minds for longer than they care to admit.

 

Here’s what she had to say.

 

Has blogging helped you in any emotional or creative way?    

 

I started writing at the age of fifteen when I lost my father unexpectedly, the ability to communicate my feelings verbally were lost. Writing seemed to be my only out. There weren’t many venues that offered an outlet so I kept a journal via Myspace notes and Facebook. Thirteen years later I continue to express myself through words and I am able to explore a deeper level of creativity. I have been able to conquer my emotions and in the process help others do the same all because of my transparency on my blog. There is a fine line between emotions and creativity, mesh them together and you have a beautiful mess.

 

Has blogging daily/weekly helped you achieve any personal goals?    

 

One of my main goals behind creating a blog was to reach the masses of people who would benefit from my words. It was in the midst of finding what worked for me that I was able to achieve that goal. I have had the opportunity to work with other writers and be published in local and national publications which for me is a major accomplishment. My blog is my time capsule that will one day say “she was here and this is her story”.

 

Does the ritual of daily/weekly blogging give you motivation to pursue things you are passionate about?   

 

YES! It wasn’t until I started blogging almost daily and recieving the feedback from my followers and readers that it hit me like a ton of bricks. I have the ability and the appeal to truly help others, why waste that gift? In recent months I have made the choice to become a life and relationship coach as well as pursue my degree in Pyschology. Had it not been for constanly blogging I may have never reached such a moment of clarity.

 

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This post is part of a series on bloggers who have found direction or passion through blogging. If you would like to be featured in the Passion Series, please contact me through this form with responses to the above questions, and share your passions. Thanks! See all Passion Series posts >>

 

December 5, 2013

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I’ve been wanting to write a blog post about a line.

 

A line? Well, more like a line that doubles as a Xanax. See lately I’ve needed a line to envision, in order to keep from spinning out, from distressing myself with images or thoughts that don’t exist.

 

I’m unrealistic at times. I often think there is some pre-determined path I’m on where I have no say. I think I’m going to be mugged at any moment. I think about car accidents, terminal illness, or that I’m going to lose the people I love prematurely. I think I’m going to be late to work, that my room is never going to look right, or that I’m not organized enough. I think people think I’m weird. I think I’m going to get a parking ticket. I think too far into the future, and even further into the past.

 

This is what I call spinning. I don’t always realize when I’m spinning until I’m too dizzy to walk. It’s hard to pin point exactly how out of control my thought processes sometimes are because this spinning happens so frequently, it’s a part of my day, of who I am. We all do it. We all spin. But I want it to stop.

 

I’ve drawn a line. I see it in my head. It’s comfortable. It’s straight, it’s firm, and it’s steady. It’s my rope, only softer. It’s a bit like a warm open road. When I hold onto it, or when I walk across it, I feel safe, like I’m right at the center of my being, like I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be, and the wind isn’t going to blow me  away to some unknown place where I am paranoid and afraid. Anywhere outside of this line, be it two feet to the left or  six miles to the right, is where I’m spinning. I’m spinning away from that warm, straight and narrow, off into places known only in my head. Typically cold with no light and a racing heart beat.

 

Strangely enough, I’m starting to see myself spin and recognize it more so than ever before. So when I see it now, I’m able to hold fast to this line I’ve envisioned. The line’s not anything strict, it’s comfortable, like a line that stretches taut at the center of my being, reminding me of where I am, and keeping me in one place when I’m prone to flights of fancy. In my case, paranoid flights of fancy. As soon as I envision this white-soft line, my feelings of anxiety or paranoia disappear. My heart slows, and I’m able to carry on drinking coffee, loving life, and blogging about line therapy. Did I just make that up?

 

In other news, I’m working on a great new project. It’s an e-book (how many times have we heard that before?), but this time it’s really just going to be a little thing to reward new subscribers with. A fellow reader gave me the idea to start rewarding new subscribers (I’m forever trying to reward my current ones!), and my sister gave me the idea of what to reward them with. But it’s not just going to be any e-book–it’s going to be a freakin’ resourceful one, and it’s going to be fucking eye catching! Haha. I’m hoping to have it done in a week or two, then it might take a few extra days to get it implemented on the blog and functioning. But given the way I’ve handled a giveaway and a successful blog redesign last month, I’m finishing projects like never before, so you WILL see this happen. And though this will be a reward for new subscribers, this will also be something you guys can download as well.

 

Okay, I’m moonwalkin’ out of here in a ball gown two sizes too big that makes lots of swishy noises (at least in my head). I hope you have a WONDERFUL Friday and weekend, and if you don’t feel like saying goodbye yet, check out some of the bloggers I featured the past couple weeks on the Passion Series–they’re pretty damn awesome.

 

 
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