Snow Days

Without so much as a flake in sight, it's hard to believe that (according to the Weather Channel) we are about to get hit with somewhere around 12 inches of snow.  Regardless of what I see right now outside my window, the school called and informed me they are dismissing the kids early today. I'm sure the students are absolutely thrilled. Especially mine. Cause one thing my girls LOVE are snow days!

Here's a  partial shot of The Bird's Nest in the snow. 

How do you feel about snow days? Do you start big projects or aim to get a lot done while you are trapped inside? Maybe you like to take it easy and bust out the movies. Perhaps you love nothing more than to bundle up and get knee deep in the white stuff.  Maybe, you are more like me and you prefer to pass the time curled up inside with a good book, a hot cup of coffee and a nice, warm, fire blazing.  However you prefer to spend the day, my wish for you is that it's a good one!

Here's a little piece the impending snow storm inspired me to write:

Anna shuffled along the snowy sidewalk. Her progress was slow, but this trek was critical. She steeled herself against the freezing wind, pulling her wool cap down over her ears and her parka a little tighter around her body. She mumbled as she shuffled along, about how stupid she was to allow her supplies of toilet paper and coffee to dwindle down to nothing. This never would have happened if Jack were still alive. Anna had always kept the pantry stocked and fridge full, for him. Somehow, living alone, made her incapable of focusing on the necessities, until they were all gone.

As she pressed along to the commissary, thoughts of Jack and pangs of grief consumed her. He was never far from her mind but going to the store brought back so many memories. And with those memories, came the pain. Pain so immediate and sharp it stole the breathe right from her body. Loss was merciless. It ripped out your heart and left nothing behind but a raw, gaping hole. A hole that could never be filled, a rip that could never be mended. Anna was grateful for her memories though. Because memories, regardless of how they stung, were the only pieces of Jack loss couldn't rip away.

Ah, Jack... Jack, Jack, Jack. Anna shook her head and smirked at the thought of what an amazing character her husband was. He would turn the most mundane tasks, even stupid trips like this to the food store, into a romantic adventure. The best she could hope for these days was to get in and out of there as fast as possible, and hope like hell she didn't attract the attention of anyone she knew in the process. The building's automatic doors swished open and a welcome wave of heat hit Anna.

“Evening Mam. Sure is cold out there.” She flashed her military id and mumbled some sort of acknowledgment at the greeter, but didn't stop moving or make any eye contact. Anna couldn't bare to look up and see if he was some random kid being polite or confirm that he was one of the young Marines who had known her husband. Many who served under his command had been reassigned or had  moved on. If she were smart, Anna would have moved on from this cold, remote base too. But for some reason, she just couldn't bring herself to.

She had planned to make her way through the produce isle quickly, but Anna stopped short when she saw the pineapples. Picking up what had to be the saddest looking pineapple on the planet, she inhaled the scent of the tropical fruit and about a dozen memories flooded her mind .

Man, did her husband love fresh pineapple. They passed so many warm, happy days eating it too, while stationed in Hawaii. Anna pictured Jack, with that goofy grin on his face, stuffing pineapple after pineapple in his gob, juice dripping down his fingers. None of the pineapples stateside could ever compare. Sighing, Anna replaced the fruit and turned to move on. The pineapple had other ideas.

The fruit slid, and caused an avalanche. Who knew one rogue pineapple could cause the entire display to come crashing down? Everyone in the store turned to look in her direction. Anna bent down and slowly started to pick up all of the pieces, feeling very much like the broken fruit at her feet.

Bird's Nest January Ups and Downs

The long, cold month of January has arrived. You would think January would bring a little boredom, or a nice, slower pace to my life. But, uh, no. Here's just a little slice of what's been going down in Bird Town:

Ups:
1. My little Franchesca (a/k/a Frankie) is going to turn 10 on the 23rd. Somehow, I can't wrap my mind  around the fact that my baby is going to be a double digit midget, but that's how fast time goes. In order to celebrate this monumental occasion properly, we are throwing her a giant b-day bash. Frankie's only request is that this shin-ding be Penguin Themed. (Which is pretty funny if any of  my older followers recall my post about her muddied history with Penguins...LOL) Any suggestions and/or party ideas/games appropriate for a 10 year old would be greatly appreciated!

2. Academic achievement. For my little nerds, academic achievement is top priority. And so far, this year, I am so proud to say, my girls are killing it! Honor roll was achieved by all. The Husband and I are so excited for Farrah and Frankie, who received High Honor Roll. My oldest, Faith, who is enrolled in a highly competitive gifted and talented program, also managed to make Honor Roll. This is quite an accomplishment, considering the amount and level of work that is assigned to her. (The GATE program kids have a minimum of 4-5 hours of homework a night and use 9th grade text books, even though they are only 7th graders) Also, Miss Faith, just won the GATE Spelling Bee. Which is crazy cool, cause those kids had to spell words I've never even heard of. She is competing in the next level Thursday night. Wish her luck!

3. My Brother Chris, published his book. It's finally available for purchase on Amazon. (FYI: It's offered for a much less expensive price on Amazon than on LuLu)  It took him twice as long as he wanted it to, but hey, at  least he did it. If any of you read it, would you please review it. Let me/him know how or if you liked it. Also, as with many SciFi/Fantasy books, the world in which we find Daniel Manoah (the main character in Convergence) is quite complex and full of controversy. I encourage any of you who might have any questions and/or would like to start an open discussion or debate, feel free to click on my page above entitled "Convergence: Sola Hominidae". The comment section there will be checked often and any and all questions or interest will be directed to and answered (gladly) by the author.

Here's the link. http://www.amazon.com/Convergence-Hominidae-Christopher-Jude-Bird-ebook/dp/B00HMY4PTO/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1388704447&sr=1-1&keywords=sola+hominidae

OK, now for the Downs:
1. I need another Biopsy. Blech. I'm tired of complaining about my health- but here it is. My latest mammography and then a follow-up ultrasound confirmed that I have a suspicious mass in my breast. I need to have it biopsied. I've been in this position before, I'm sure many of you have found yourself in this position too. It's never fun. Any of my followers who are the praying type, if you don't mind, say one for me, K? This road is not one I relish driving down again, but I am ready and willing to go, if that's where the Lord is leading me.

2. Haven't worked on any of my WIPS.  Have you been wondering how the heck I can still call myself a writer, even though I haven't published a dang thing yet? Deep in my heart, I still identify with and consider myself  a writer. Am I delusional? Maybe. But I'm still holding on to the hope that I will be able to pull out of this slump and create something great one day.  Like Bill Murray, in the movie, What About Bob I cling to my mantra, "Baby Steps." Who knows, before you know it, I may even be able to go sailing!

Cheers to Baby Steps- Insecure Writer's Support Group

I know I've said this before, but I'm so thankful for the Insecure Writer's Support Group. Not just for all of the kind words of encouragement and awesome advice from my fellow writers and bloggers extraordinaire, but I'm thankful to this group for holding me accountable to post!

I fully understand how clueless this is going to make me sound, but I have to be honest. Would you believe that it wasn't until I had to sign in at the stupid doctor's office this afternoon that I noticed what the date was? It's sad but true. As soon as I realized what day it was, I knew I had to come straight home and sit my giant arse down and  get working on this post. Sorry I didn't remember earlier, but at least I remembered before this day was done. Which is a definite improvement over the last two months, LOL. I am, however, going to have to keep this brief because it's late and I have to get the kiddos to bed. :)

On a positive note, I wrote a flash fiction piece on Monday that I didn't hate. It's a baby step, and I'm not entirely certain this means I'm out of the woods creatively, but I'll take it. Because no matter how small a victory that may be, it's still a huge improvement over last month. I'd really like to take a sec and thank everyone for their encouraging comments (and their patience) with me when I was in such a bad way.

So this month, I'd like to shout a big cheers to baby steps! No matter how small, as long as they are moving forward, I'd like to think they are still a step in the right direction.   - Jaybird