Sometimes I think pregnancy has stolen my muse. I am 11 weeks in and so very tired that there is little I want to do that requires more than on optic nerve. Watching Harry Potter or other things on Netflix, keeping up with the news here in #Ferguson. I have tried painting, tried drawing (get distracted), tried bicycling (bonk in 10 minutes), tried cooking (ugh – really? Eat that?) and, yes, tried writing (such a heavy pen).
Let’s Start at the Very Beginning…
I would like to share a recent post from a brand new blog, Every Day That The Sun Rises. Written by a friend dear to my heart, it will chronicle his life, lessons, and adventures living and working in Costa Rica. The author, Stephen, is one of the best people I know – funny, smart, kind, and his insights will be equal parts poignant and humorous at the same time. Enjoy!
…a very good place to start.
I have been in Costa Rica now for almost three weeks, and this is the first chance I have had to finally write about it. Before leaving the U.S. for this new adventure, a lot of people asked me a lot of questions. Often the same questions came up over and over. For this first post, I thought it would help to re-visit those questions in order to provide some context for the rest of the blog. So welcome to the first (only?) installment of “All the Questions. All the Answers.”
“Wait…you’re moving to Costa Rica? Why??”
Yep, I most certainly am/did! After years of hoping/planning for an eventual move abroad, I finally found the right opportunity at the right time. I have worked the last six years in university admissions, a career path that I more or less “fell” into initially but one…
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“Do you know what your sin is, Mal?” “Aw hell, I’m a fan of all seven.”
To come up with a sin that Mal Reynolds would be proud to own, that is how I read today’s prompt.
Also, there is a stage at the Bristol Renaissance Fair that has the seven sins painted on the back of it, and this sin needs to be worthy of a painting with the others.
So, a trait or behavior that I find unacceptable. Gum popping? I hate that. Malapropisms? Those kind of drive me crazy, too, especially when I hear them a lot. Small talk? My INFJ personality hates that, though I know it serves a purpose.
I think the eigth sin I would declare is snorting. I don’t mean the I’m-sick-and-I’m-doing-my-best-to-keep-up-with-it-kind-of-snorting that we all have now and again, but the I’m-too-lazy-to-blow-my-nose-so-I’m-just-going-to-suck-it-into-the-deepest-recesses-of-my-brain snorting. <shudder>
I don’t want to see that painted in Bristol, and Mal probably wouldn’t like that one, Classy Captain Tightpants, but I think that would be it.
Plain Flash Fiction
Across the flat Oklahoma plain, clouds were building.
“Wait, are those the sirens? Dude, there’s a tornado coming!!” Running around the house.
“All of these rooms have windows!”
“No, come in here!” A few minutes pass.
“Do I hear them outside?”
“Oh yeah – we’re cool guys!”
“No, things aren’t cool!” Run to the window. The farmland that had previously surrounded us was cracking and being filled with water. A large farmhouse was literally tipping into the new lake as it ate surround Earth. A military unit was sprinting awkwardly against to current to reach the voices inside.
“Oh crap, are we gonna fall into the lake?” Turn to the host, Joe.
“No, we’re on a granite block.” A few minutes pass and people leave the window.
To our host, “Well, Joe, now you have lakefront property.”
I’m working on doing more fiction/flash fiction. Any notes? Thoughts? Feedback?
First Trimester Lessons
So, I’m seven weeks along right now, almost eight. One month left in this first trimester. I had my first bout of nausea last night/this morning, and I’m hoping that’s as bad as it gets. There are some things I’m appreciating during this time, the time that so many women call magical.
Two songs that have made my summer
You know how songs call back memories? I love that (I mean, usually. Sometimes the memories are bad and I don’t want to see them again.)
For this summer, I think I already have my song(s). The first is “Magic” by Coldplay. I don’t know how old it really is, but it was the background music in a video about the St. Louis Renaissance Fair this year. It’s dreamy, soft and other-worldly, just like my memories of the summer and the fair.
Or, the song would be “Moyturra” by Pictus, and Irish drum and bagpipe group, kind of local. My renaissance guild leader knew about them and recruited them to play during our Celtic weekend at the Faire. They used our camp as a home base, and even performed played one of their shows under one of our covered areas when the rain was too bad. Now, whenever I hear this song, I am standing by the tree behind the crowd next to my friend Jason, and we’re both standing in the drizzle, watching this band play their hearts out, watching our glen fill with people. It was gorgeous. Go to their website and check them out!
What would your song be?
If Men and Women Were Represented Equally or Social Construct of Gender
I know many people are tired of hearing about sexism, and tired of the so-called “War on Women.” Okay. There are some thing I’m tired of, too, with regards to the way women are treated, but it’s hard to point it out without sounding accusing. So I like to use more mainstream examples to prove the point. What do you think of these four?
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Top Ten TV Shows or Movies
I’ve never done one of these, though one of the blogs I follow, The Bumbling Bookworm, puts these up faithfully. This week, she said, the top ten topic is on T.V. Shows or Movies! Huzzah! I feel like I can take part in this one!
And so I shall. T.V. shows are in green, and the one movie is in orange.
1. Doctor Who. Clever writing, fantastic storytelling…
A Week Like No Other
This has been such a hard week. A week since I found out I am pregnant, and I am so anxious about it. I have moments of panic that clench my heart or stomach and make it hard to sit still. I have noticed that doing anything takes a lot of work right now. I can’t keep my mind on my work, I’m not hungry and I have to work to eat, work to go out with friends, but I hate being alone. I can really even muster up the commitment to crochet or bike like I used to. I’m not even writing that much! I think it’s getting better, but I’m really struggling.
You’re A Wonder, Wonder Woman
I think I had my first pregnancy dream last night. Several of them, actually. In my favorite one, a new Wonder Woman was being born out of a tub, like a Cylon in Battlestar Galactica. She emerged, fully clothed and elevated to the top of the room, where the old Wonder Woman was waiting.
They greeted each other and then stood together and looked ‘away,’ off the horizon. Together, they agreed that they were going to adopt and raise the coming baby.
I decided this was a pregnancy dream and it means one of two things:
1. I am carrying Wonder Woman
2. I AM Wonder Woman.
I’ll accept either one.
I Didn't Just Wake Up This Morning With A Craving 