It's hard to believe that only three months ago I started my 365 day quest of writing on Mari's site. It's been really fun to do. In this past month we have been getting ready to move to Anchorage, Alaska, to start a new adventure. We've heard nothing but good things about living there. I can only imagine all the things we can do and see once we are there. I sit here on the couch in my in-laws house and it's kind of quiet and nice. I've missed being away from everyone so it's nice to know … [Read more...]
Taxes, Oh What Fun
I meant to get this written back on April 15 but with the move to Alaska things have been a little bit busy. Almost two years ago my husband and I took full legal guardianship of our niece Athena and our nephew Trevin. Trevin came to us on July 17, 2011 and Athena came on August 2, 2011. And guess when the cut off time for being able to claim them on our taxes? That right, June 30, 2011. My brother was fine with us claiming them because we spent a lot of money to not only get them here with … [Read more...]
Day 77: Why Write?
I love this question. Why do I write? It's simple really. I do it because I've grown to love it and couldn't imagine my life without it now. I write when I'm sad. I write when I'm happy. I write when I have news to share. For me it has become an extension of who I am. I think, in a way, people who read what I write have a view into who I am as a person. I've become happier as a person. I think back to the day I started this site. I was so sad. Grief engulfed my body. I was missing my … [Read more...]
Day 65: Why You Don’t Show Your Work to Your Spouse
I have to tell you that as of right now I sit here walking on my treadmill getting ready to go read today's phrase, I had to laugh as I can only imagine what will be said. I guess we'll find out in a second. Here I go... Well, here it is. I thought it best to quote what she said: "Why You Don’t Show Your Work to Your Spouse. When Norris Church Mailer showed her husband, Norman Mailer, the first one hundred pages of a novel she was working on, he said, 'It’s not as bad as I thought it would … [Read more...]
G is for giving
As you can't help giving your heart to Mari as she enters it for good. It never seemed to amaze me how captivating our daughter was. Here laughter could draw in almost anyone. It was infectious. I loved when she was sitting in her high chair eating and out of the blue she would start to giggle. You looked at where you thought she was but there wasn't anything there. She sort of had this far off look. She had escaped into Mari's world. I can imagine what her world was like as she was … [Read more...]
Day 57: Juggling
In life, the perfect day would be 100% smooth. If we're doing something we don't get interrupted. We blissfully move from one activity to another. The dream life. Well, that's just it. It's a dream. Whether at home or at a job, you will always inevitably be interrupted by someone or something. That's just life. Sometimes those interruptions are either wanted or good. Other times you wish you could disappear. Ultimately, we have to juggle everything we do in just the right combination so we … [Read more...]
Day 1: Switchbacks up the Mountain
Switchbacks up the mountain can mean so many things. I think life in general is a continue road we travel up and down mountain. Sometimes the mountain is more of an easy hill that we climb and where life seems to move forward at a nice pace. But then there are those times where the road going up the mountain is so narrow and steep we feel we might fall off the edge plummeting to the ground below. I know that first year after Mari died my life felt more like the later. It felt like at any time … [Read more...]
Writing Mari’s story
Today has been an interesting day as I try to take "Her Hospital Story" and make it into a full length book. I came to a section where it kind of stumped me as to how I really should write it. I have so many things that I feel are so important to make sure they are included in this story to get it right. Probably the most important is the emotional aspect. I want the reader to be able to feel how I felt during this time. And to do this requires that I tap into those emotions from that time … [Read more...]
Starting to work on Mari’s book again
I think many of you know I had put off writing Mari's book for a little while but I may not have gone into why I did so. Through different writing forums I became apart of I found out the book I had completed would be a great one for family and friends as long as that is where it ended. But if I wanted it to be read by more than just people I knew then it needed to be done in a completely different way. One thing I kept being told is I needed to add fiction elements to her book. At first … [Read more...]
Pursuing true happiness, I mean joy
When I look at those around us and the hustle and bustle that is constantly going on around us, it seems like everyone is in the pursuit of true happiness. Some think their pursuit of money will bring them their desired happiness. Yet, at the end of the day, it never brings anyone happiness. In fact, it only seems to make people more miserable and unhappy as the inanimate object of money can do nothing for them. Some think their pursuit of making and finding new friends will bring them … [Read more...]
