I'm Blogging of a White Christmas

Check out the totally cool snowflakes falling over my blog! The blogger elves turned me on to ShabbyBlogs. This is a conversation I overheard between an elf and one of my neighbors:

Blogger Elf:  I love the fun stuff ShabbyBlogs provides for free.
Neighbor:  Excuse me. Did you just say "free"?
Blogger Elf:  Why, yes, I did. I downloaded the "Let It Snow" application to my blog page -- and now there are snowflakes everywhere.
Neighbor:  Well, I'm gonna git me some of that!


Today my front yard is buried in two feet of icy snowy remnants from the weekend snow storm. It's fun to watch Molly try to make her way across the snow, in search of a good pooping spot, only to crunch through the crust and sink down to her armpits. Good thing she's spry and adventurous. She seems never to be in a hurry for this ritual to culminate -- so opposite from us humans. Dogs are so much fun to watch, especially when they don't know you're peeking through the blinds to watch them do their doggy-hunty thing.

I couldn't wait for Christmas, so I opened one of my presents tonight: the Beatles remastered collection. I only listened to the first album ("The Beatles"). There are so many albums in this boxed set that it will take me weeks to get through them all. Good thing I got an early start, huh?

And here is a little side note that might interest you: I've decided to wear a wig. Why, you ask, would you WANT to wear a wig? Well, you might want to ask my hairdresser, instead, why she decided that I need to look like a cross between actress Jane Lynch (a.k.a. dike PE teacher on "Glee") and Kate Gosselin, who everyone knows has the most hideous hairstyle in America. So, until my hair grows out beyond its current 1.5- inch length, I will be donning my gay apparel -- an auburn wig that my husband says makes me look 10 years younger. Oh, crap! Now he's gonna want me to do some of the stuff I used to do 10 years ago! I think I'll hide in the basement and listen to more digitally-remastered Beatles recordings...

If you aren't laughing at this, you'll undoubtedly think I've lost my mind. Tell me I'm wrong.

From Stunt Wife to Leading Lady

I just read about a book called Not Quite What I Was Planning: Six-Word Memoirs by Writers Famous and Obscure (copywright Smith Magazine, 2008). How delighted am I that my own memoir's title is exactly six words?! If you are interested in previewing pages to Stunt Wife..., let me know and I'll send you a chapter, but you must promise to read and respond immediately. The book will be going to print in 2010.

Here are a few more six-word zingers you might enjoy:
"How do we get outa here?" - Joel Frost repeated all the way through the Haunted Mansion at Disneland.

"Revenge is living well, without you." - Joyce Carol Oates, one of my favorite authors, who has obviously been through at least one divorce!

"We were our own Springer episode." - Michelle Hoogerwerf (or could have been written by one of my step children).

"Mom died. Dad screwed us over." - Leslie Kysely (Damn - I wish we'd had this enscribed on my parents' shared headstone!)

"Life is short, so laugh more." -- Kelli Allred

The Value of Time

To realize

The value of a sister/brother

Ask someone

Who doesn't have one.

To realize

The value of ten years:

Ask a newly

Divorced couple.

To realize

The value of four years:

Ask a graduate.

To realize

The value of one year:

Ask a student who

Has failed a final exam.

To realize

The value of nine months:

Ask a mother who gave birth to a stillborn.

To realize

The value of one month:

Ask a mother

Who has given birth to

A premature baby.

To realize

The value of one week:

Ask an editor of a weekly newspaper.

To realize

The value of one minute:

Ask a person

Who has missed the a train, bus or plane..

To realize

The value of one-second:

Ask a person

Who has survived an accident.

Time waits for no one.

Treasure every moment you have.

You will treasure it even more when

You can share it with someone special.

To realize the value of a friend or family member:

Lose one.

Not really sure why I keep blogging, since no one seems to be reading these anymore. But Facebook and Twitter are so not me. I like my relationships one-on-one, not a popularity contest. If you stop by, leave a quick note.

I Pray You Enough

I pray you enough sun to keep your attitude bright no matter how gray the day may appear.

I pray you enough rain to appreciate the sun even more..

I pray you enough happiness to keep your spirit alive and everlasting. 

I pray you enough pain so that even the smallest of joys in life may appear bigger.

I pray you enough gain to satisfy your wanting.

I pray you enough loss to appreciate all that you possess..

I pray you enough hellos to get you through the final good-bye.


They say, it takes a minute to find a special person, an hour to appreciate them, a day to love them, but an entire life to forget them.

My Hero Still Lives

After too many years, I ran into one of my lifelong heroes today -- he's still alive! Lael Woodbury, now age 81, was the finest professor I had the honor of learning from. By the time I entered the theater program in the 1970s, Lael no longer taught under-graduate courses, so I had to wait until my Masters program to earn the privilege of learning from this man. I had him for four separate courses. I treasured each hour I spent under his tutelage. He made me a better student, and a better teacher. Most of all, he made me a better person.

One day while visiting him after my divorce, he suggested that I write about my experiences from a personal perspective. I have held onto that urging for over a decade, and today when we spoke, I told him that I'm finally in the midst of writing about it. He smiled approvingly.

This was a good day. I thank God for allowing me the tender mercy of today's chance encounter. It was good for all three of us.

Memoir Writers and My Own Propinquities

http://thesisterproject.com/roach/memoir-tip-think-with-propinquity/ The Sister Project fell into my lap as I feverishly searched for material to pad my chapters in Creating Sisters. The Roach sisters offer a pleasant side-dish story about one memorable Thanksgiving. It reminded me of my first Christmas in Japan:

After a year of sporadic employment -- thanks to terrorists in airplanes -- I was tapped out. When the government offered me a two-year contract teaching in Japan, I jumped at it. Steady income for two years AND world travel.  With my credit cards maxed out, I left my husband behind, stateside, and moved to another continent to work and to salve my financial wounds. Month after month, I was able to pay off and catch up on my bills, one at a time. It felt good, until the holidays approached. My friends and co-workers, also Americans, selected their vacation destinations, paid for tickets, and left the country for exotic global adventures. I remained in my apartment, with no money for travel -- not even enough to fly home for the holidays.

Not only did I find myself alone on Christmas, but I didn't have a single present to unwrap. (Must have seemed like too much trouble to find something, wrap it, and mail it to Japan). So I lay on in front of the television the livelong day, watching Japanese television, and reminding myself how I got there. "God binds us so He can free us; Satan frees us so he can bind us." I had misused my financial freedom over the past few years, so that now I had no financial choices left. Never again, I promised myself, would I allow this to happen.

December 26th wasn't quite as bad as the 25th, and a few days later my daughter arrived to share my Japan experience for a few weeks before her next college semester would commence. With payday on December 31st, we entertained ourselves with daytrips into Tokyo. The wisdom I gained that Christmas prepared me for the healing and peace of mind that I had longed for. When I returned to life as before -- after spending THREE years in Japan -- I had changed profoundly. But I'll save that for another day...