Just for today...

I will focus on what matters and ignore what doesn't.
I will think before I speak.
I will consider the consequences of my actions.
I will internalize and absorb calmness.
I will not succumb to chaos.
I will try to remember why I've made some of the choices I have.
I will reiterate to myself my values.
I will be gentle on myself.
I will search for silence.

Just for today...I will try and maybe I will try again for tomorrow.

T Minus One Week.

Just a week to go and it's all over by now. The exam that I have half-hearted been preparing for has come up so quickly. I'm proud that I've stayed relatively focused this go round. I am making a list of what to do different for my next course. It includes tips I think might work to keep me more on track when I feel myself slipping away. It also includes scheduling specific time just for textbooks and tea.
What have you accomplished lately that makes you proud?

Let's Play #152.

Happy study breaks are made by great blogs. Janet has one. You can play too, you know!

1. Wait! Wait, don't forget _____to kiss me goodbye_____.
2. ___You will stop now___ followed at once by ____a one way trip to a time-out!!____.
3. The trouble is ___people think they are entitled to things rather than having to earn things___.
4. ____My sister lives____ many miles away.
5. With a faint pop __she listened to her bubble burst____.
6. ___Two words i rarely use are___ shadowy and ominous.
7. And as for the weekend, friday i'm looking forward to __the one week mark to my exam, saturday my plans include __housecleaning__and Sunday, I want to __make some serious progress on this bathroom reno___!

Let's Play #151.

Janet's done it for another week, Friday Fill-in Fun. You're playing, right?

1. We need ______to think of humanity_______.
2. ____I thought of you_____ and it made me smile.
3. If you want ____to hear the answer, ask the right question of the right person_____.
4. ______It's the way it is_______ because ______it is_______.
5. Massachusetts has a proposed 5% sales tax on elective cosmetic surgery; I think _____the people that made this proposal need to understand more about why some may elect to have the surgery in the first place. They stand to learn a thing or two_________.
6. ____Great conversation____ makes for a happy holiday.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to __a fun night with my family___, tomorrow my plans include __a textbook twist__ and Sunday, I want to __pretend like my bathroom reno is finished___!

Dear Day Planner,

Please don't leave me again. I am lost without you. You give me structure. You keep my in the know. You prevent me from showing up at places without appointments, on wrong days, or just because I thought I would remember.
Let's call a truce, ok? I need you.

me ..... xo

Let's Play #150.

Janet takes time every week to put together Friday Fill-Ins. Won't you play?

1. The last band I saw live was ___Default (i think!)__________.
2. What I look forward to most on Thanksgiving is ____the conversations with family_____. (if you don't celebrate thanksgiving, insert your favorite holiday)
3. My Christmas/holiday shopping is _____simple_____.
4. Thoughts of _____you________ fill my head.
5. I wish I could wear ________a red hat______.
6. Bagpipes ___are the sounds i remember from my grandpa's funeral all those years ago_____.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to __shopping for reno stuff___, tomorrow my plans include __cracking the whip and begging my bathroom to be put back together___ and Sunday, I want to __wave my magic wand and will all the dust away___!

TravelinOma's Exam Week Catch Up

I'm three exams behind. Here we go:

Book Shelf Seminar: Quiz Time

Do you own more than 100 books?
Hands down. I probably could add a zero and then some...
Do you read any book or magazine that is handy?
Sometimes I do. Sometimes I'm choosy.
Have you ever read the cereal box?
Absolutely.
Do you have a membership with the local library?
I do, though I haven't been in a very long tim.
Do you go to the library more than once a week?
No.
Would you rather read a book than go out with friends?
Some days.
Do you visit the bookstore more often than you do your mother?
I visit the bookstore with my mom.
Do you wear glasses? If so, was reading the reason you got them?
Nope.
When asked your favorite hobbies, do you reply with a single word "reading?"
I reply with a few words, one of which is "reading".
Have you ever stayed in bed all day reading?
Not in a long time but, yes. Flowers in the Attic was the book I devoured.

Travel Studies Seminar: Quiz Time

1. What is your traveling style?
~ Going on a super luxury cruise, relaxing and eating well for a week.
~ Going with friends on a history bus tour with a guide.
~ Going on a wildlife safari or a mountaineering expedition.

2. How many clothes do you usually take along on a holiday?
~ At least 2 new sets of clothes for every day of the vacation.
~ One set per day is usually enough.
~ I can easily manage in 3-4 sets, no matter how long the vacation.

3. How many pieces of luggage did you carry on the last vacation?
~ Including the sleeping bags and the tent?
~ Two suitcases, carry-on, shopping bag, purse, tote, diaper bag, laptop, pillow, coat.
~ A backpack, that's all.

4. Given the following choices, where would you prefer traveling to?
~ Alaska or Tahiti
~ India Or China
~ Kenya Or Greenland

5. What is your preference regarding hotels, while on vacation?
~ A luxurious five star, with a room service 24 hours duty.
~ A medium priced hotel, with just the necessities.
~ A Tent rules.

6. What are your food preferences on a holiday?
~ A six course meal at the best restaurant in town.
~ A decent meal at a good place for $12.
~ Whatever you can carry in your cooler.

7. How do you travel while on a holiday?
~ A rented car.
~ Public transport.
~ By foot, wherever possible.

8. What's your dream vacation?
~ Biking down the California coast.
~ Eurailing around Europe for three months.
~ Two weeks at a beach resort.

9. You and your friends are hiking. You
~ Take the most difficult route; it's no fun otherwise.
~ Take the route everyone else takes.
~ You take the simplest route, after all reaching the destination is important.

10. While on a beach
~ You prefer to go surfing or scuba-diving.
~ You are content with swimming in water.
~ You would rather stay on the beach and build sand castles.

11. In an amusement park, you will be seen
~ On the new gigantic roller-coaster.
~ Taking the scenic train ride.
~ Watching the kids while reading a book.

12. Someone says they're taking you bungee jumping.
~ You are totally game for it. Wow!
~ You express your doubts, but are persuaded.
~ You throw up.

13. When you are on a camping trip
~ You cook and eat whatever you can catch.
~ You bring fried chicken for dinner, and muffins for breakfast.
~ You hire a dutch oven chef.

14. You're planning a long road trip with the kids. You
~ Buy a new car with a built in DVD player.
~ Take plenty of benedryl.
~ Buy several copies of Harry Potter, and read it out loud together.

15. You're in Washington DC for a long weekend. You can't wait to
~ Visit all the Smithsonian museums.
~ Take a city tour to see the Lincoln Memorial and other monuments.
~ Sleep in every morning, take in a movie, and see a live ballet that night.

Write Away Seminar: Quiz Time

1. The power in your house goes out, and you are stuck with candles and nothing to do but think. How long could you entertain yourself just sitting?
~Ten seconds. I'd get out my cell phone and call a friend.
~Ten minutes. Then I'd fall asleep.
~Hours. I'd reconstruct my last conversation; think through a presentation I might give someday; imagine my life in ten years; remember my high school gym class.

2. You're writing and the phone rings. You:
~Answer it.
~Finish your sentence, then answer it.
~Let the answering machine get it.

3. The person calling is one of your dearest friends, who wants to get together for brunch and a good long chat about her ex. Unfortunately, this juicy brunch will take place during your scheduled writing time. You:
~Decide to go. You haven't heard the latest dirt on her evil ex in ages.
~Say you can't go, but sit on the phone dishing for another hour.
~Reschedule for a non-writing day.

4. You're at the restaurant with your friend when you have a fantastic idea for a novel. You:
~Hope you'll remember it—you have nothing to write with and nothing to write on.
~ Will manage. You use the waiter's pen and the back of your receipt.
~ Carry a special notebook, an organizer, or even a laptop with you everywhere—you're completely prepared.

5. You imagine yourself as a successful writer. What is the image that is clearest in your mind?~The rounds of publishers' parties, autographings, and talk shows where you are lionized for your work of immortal literary genius?
~Your name on the spines of a shelf full of beautiful books?
~Your backside glued to the chair, your cramped fingers on the keyboard, and your blurred eyes on the monitor.

5. If money was no issue, what would you do with your spare time?
~Shop til you drop;
~Prepare for a maraton;
~Sit alone in a room full of books and type.

6. Do you have . . .
~An idea for the Great American Novel -- a certain best-seller,
~A few ideas for different stories,
~Background and development for a number of related books, a time-line, and a whole bunch of files.

7. You figure the biggest benefit of becoming a writer is:
~Money and fame;
~Flexible hours and being your own boss;
~The writing.

8. You read:
~The occasional newspaper, magazines at the hair salon, and headlines in the grocery store check-out line.
~In your free time if you don't have something better to do.
~You invented the term multi-tasking because reading IS your "something better to do". You usually have a book in hand no matter what else you're doing at the time.

9. You have some strong opinions about a political issue. You
~Yell at the car radio.
~Debate it with your bookclub.
~You write a letter to the editor.

10. You realize you have an experience that would benefit others. You
~Call around, and let people know you're anxious to talk with them;
~Ask if you could speak about your topic at a luncheon;
~Write an article and submit it for publication.

Ava's Rule.

Sheye Rosemeyer has some very serious, very important words for you to read. She lost her Super Princess. Go educate yourself.
While you're there, read her story.

Book Shelf Seminar: Class Presenations

TravelinOma grabbed my heart today. She's talking bookstores in heaven. The one that she will own. The one that I want to enjoy. I can hear the crackling logs flickering embers up just so that you can't help but stop and smile. I can image the conversations that freely flow. I can feel the no pressure carefree non-sales because this is, after all, heaven.

As for the assignments today, I have a pass on #1 and #3. #2 is a near fail though. I am attached to them. I breathe their stories. I connect with the characters. I believe that someday I will devour the pages of each again.
#1 - Rearrange books and eat donut. Book inventory is done often around this place. It does not mean that I know where all my books are nor does it mean that I have read all of them. It does mean that I visit with the different stacks in the different areas. They know I mean well. I genuinely mean well and will someday absorb their stories. ... off to get a donut.
#3 - My children and I read regularly. Presently we are all about the Mr. books. You know the ones, small, square, usually funny, sometimes serious, always a nice read. We are also liking Robert Munsch and Dr. Seuss. I'm searching for the perfect copy of The Gift of the Magi. Any suggestions?

Over and out!

Mission: November 2009

• Keep November simple
• Put up the Christmas Tree
• Purge, prepare or put away
• Study! It's the home stretch now. The end of this course is in sight.
• Pick up the camera and click away
• Resist spontaneous urges
• Drink tea
• Find The Polar Express movie. It is essential holiday viewing for me. A cuppa jo. YES PLEASE!
• Think about a bathroom reno

That's is for now. November, let's hold hands.