Throwback, Throw Away!

So, looking back to college when I took my Poetry Writing class, I have some pretty bad memories.  My professor was brilliant.  He was a great poet, but he didn't teach me a whole lot except that I wasn't very good at writing poetry(he was probably trying to make me a better writer, but all the criticism just make me feel inferior).  But today, I wrote a poem in my class and I find it good and creative and I actually think I am good at writing poetry again.  So, take that!  I am throwing back to those memories, but throwing away the baggage that has haunted me since! What a great release.

You can find the picture below HERE

OUR MOON; THE MOON

We don’t worry about

            Saturn’s 63 or Jupiter’s 47

We know our moon.

            THE MOON

We speak of the moon hitting your eye,

            We Sing about Blue Moons,

We nursery rhyme about cows jumping over it

            We consider the man in the moon. 

We know our moon.

            THE MOON

Our moon doesn’t need a fancy name like

            Titan or Triton because

We know our moon.

            THE MOON      

Writing Wednesday

Today was really a day full of writing and it was awesome.  Writing makes me feel alive and full of purpose.  Today we did a "walk and write" during my writing class.  Basically, you take a little walk around a place, in our case American Fork, Utah, and then you sit down somewhere and write for ten full minutes.  The whole idea is that you will be inspired by something you see along the way.  We started our day out at a little hole in the wall place for breakfast, called Tangie's.  It was full of character and many characters.  It was fun to sit there for an hour and eat both food and eat in the atmosphere.  It was also nice to chat with my fellow class members and get to know them better.

I wrote twice during the walk and write and this is my favorite of the two.  It is dedicated to my sister, who will celebrate her last day of work for the school year tomorrow.  She is my hero, and whenever I see keys, I think of her and a dream she once had. (Sorry if the details aren't perfect, Andi.  I may have created a little of the tale to have it fit here!)

It's an interesting thing that a common object can be lost in the big that surrounds us.  Key are pretty simple and we really don't give them a whole lot of thought until a problem with them arises.

"Crap! Where are my keys?" is a common anxious outburst as we are running late.  And vulgarity rings from lips when one has just realized that they have locked their keys in their car or house.

A feeling of trap ensues as you sit on your stoop, very glad that you at least have your phone in order to call on the saving grace of the Bilco Key Guy.

To me he is an anchor, a savior so to speak, just as the dream my sister had about keys was an anchor to her.  See the kids she raised were a source of much anxiety and worry, just like you or I may experience as we look for our lost keys because, like our locked door, her kids were locked and she searched for years to find the key that would open their issues to help them find success in functioning in society.

Just like the wall of keys I just saw at the lock and key store, millions of keys were falling from the sky for Andi.  She panicked as she tried to open the locks surrounding her but soon realized that as long as she kept trying and searching for the right key, she was bound to find the right one.

Maybe, in life, the key doesn't have to fit the lock, maybe there really isn't only a single key or way that will work but we all have to have faith that somewhere there is the saving answer to issues just like there will always be some lock guy who's able to come and save the day.

Seeing those keys was a great reminder of Andi and her superpowers as a mom and as a woman who isn't perfect and doesn't have all the answers but is finding her perfect ground by not giving in. I am so blessed to have her in my life to show me that brave is the only way to be.

Random Ten

Today I have been very scatterbrained when it comes to writing.  I have struggled during our writing time at my writing class to stay focused on one topic.  I was trying to write today's Top Ten List and was in hundreds of different directions, so here is my Random List of My Ten Favorites.

1.  Healthy Snack
I do love to snack, but the favorite lately is Skinny Pop.  Popcorn is amazing at curbing hunger and this stuff is a no guilt way to eat popcorn, and it's also very tasty.  I need to find a way to replicate it because as much as I love it and find it worth the 5 dollars a bag, I need to save the money seeing I can eat about five bags a week.

2.  Book Series
Sorry Harry Potter you didn't make the favorite.  I love the Loon Lake Mystery Series by Victoria Houston.  These books take place in Wisconsin and Houston's description of the land takes me on vacation there every time I open the pages.  Currently I am reading Dead Hot Mama, number five in the series.

3.  Drink
Some would guess Diet Coke, but really it is Coke Zero all the way these days.  Tastes more like Coke without the nasty aftertaste of Diet Coke and the flavor of real Coke.

4.  Holiday
Don't get me wrong I love Christmas and celebrating the birth of Christ, but I really, really love Halloween.  Not the scary, creep Halloween, but the cute little dress up kids and get candy part with pumpkins and corn mazes.

5.  Song
"I Had a Dream" by Kelly Clarkson is constantly playing both in my head and on the speakers in my car.  I am still trying to convince little Ellis that Kelly Clarkson is the queen! Listen to it here and read the lyrics too!

6.  Ellis' Book
Ellis likes Thomas the Train and Bob the Builder right now(both of which I could do without) but I love Say Boo! by Lynda Graham-Barber.  It is just so cute about a little ghost that struggles saying boo!

7.  Hate
I hate the crap about Black Lives Matter!  I want a t-shirt that says: Lives Matter!  I wish people would be informed and realize that not all cops are racist and also that all whites racist.  So sick of the political chaos allowed to go on in our society right now that is even supported by some of our leaders.  Don't get me wrong, I do believe that there are some bad cops out there but overall, I trust that they are good guys with a few bad eggs in the bunch.

8.  Day
I am going to cheat and pick two.  Of course my wedding day was a great day and the birth of my son was a life changer.  Best days ever! But really any day where I can smile and laugh are good days too.

9.  Recent Movie
I loved Interstellar because it was so mind blowing. It really made my brain hurt for about a week after it as I tried to wrap my mind around sense of it.  Great story.  I also saw The Age of Adaline recently and it was also mind blowing and amazing.  See both, you won't regret it.

10. Food
I have fallen out of love with burgers lately.  Maybe I have eaten too many of them.  I really like cheese curds though.  And by cheese curds I am not just talking about those little clumps of cheese, I am talking about those little clumps of cheese breaded and then fried to gooey perfection.  Oh Wisconsin, I am so excited to visit you in three weeks! (If you don't get the chance to got to Wisconsin any time soon, I have found that Buffalo Wild Wings have cheese curds that compete!)

That was fun.  I am glad I am over my block!  Thanks to Sarah and Morgan for helping me with topics.  I owe this post to you!  Cheers!

Places I love...

The Places I love: Today I started my writing class.  Our first little writing prompt was perfect for Me Monday.  It asked us about our favorite places and here is where I ended up:

Places I love most are those that take me to a place where I can be surrounded by nature and where I can contemplate the complexities of life(or the simples of life).

Perch Lake is one of those places for me.  The lake is nestled among thousands of trees in the Northwoods of Wisconsin.  It is a picturesque place where the water is blue at first glance but when you get closer to the edge, it becomes completely clear.  On a calm day with no wind, you can see the reflection of the clouds upon the surface as if you were looking into a mirror.

Here, on my favorite sandy edge, I would put a worm on the end of my line.  The goal was to land a big Bass but usually,  I would just end up drowning the worm which is perfectly okay with me because, as most fishermen know, fishing isn’t all about the fish.  Fishing is about taking in breaths of crisp fresh air and breathing out all care and worry.  It’s about watching the massive, fluffy white clouds roll by and if you fortunate enough, to shoot the breeze with another fisherman.

The best trips to Perch Lake included my fishing buddy, Don.  Don is a character and had the wisdom of having weathered years.  At first look, you may confuse him with a character from “Grumpy Old Man,” which he could be one of them, but he also has a charm about him.  He was always a complete gentleman as he would always bait my line.  (Little did he know that I was very used to the slimy goo that comes along with using live bait.) As he would do the dirty work of baiting the line, he would answer my questions of where the best places to cast for the big fish were by only saying, “you never know,” a line that still drives a lot of my life’s philosophy.  If only Don had been thirty years younger, he would definitely have been in the running for my best eternal fishing buddy but, alas, timing just wasn’t right for us, but I did get the chance to find my best fishing buddy, Reuben.

And by far, the best trip to Perch Lake included Reuben. We went to try our lines just after we were married in 2012.  We both caught bass that day and a lifetime of future fishing expeditions to come.

What are your favorite places?

Fun Friday

Friday is for fun. So here is a look at the fun week I have had. It is officially summer around here. Not working is just one of the many perks of being a teacher. 

I have loved just being mommy this week. Little Ellis and I have had tons of fun. I will miss this when I start my class next week but I am also sure I will love my class and its adventure. 

Tuesday we went and fed some ducks at the park near my school. We spend a lot of time at parks these days. This kid is addicted to slides.  

Tuesday night we had a pool party BBQ with my brother from another mother and his wife. These are two of Ellis favorite people(and mine too!). We had brats on the grill and it was delicious.  

Wednesday was filled with Guinea  pigs and hanging at mama and papa's. We also squeezed in a little bike ride with daddy as well. 

I even got Ellis to keep that hat on most of the day. I guess you just have to tell him that it is a choo choo hat and he loves it. 

Ellis even took his first selfie:

Yesterday we shopped, went down slides and swam again. Two days with the hat. Maybe it will stick this summer. I am tired and may even take a nap myself now while he is down for one. Summer rocks!!!