Thankful Thursday - Words

As Thursday rolls around once more I find myself in a somewhat different place to last week. And really quite a few Thursdays before that. And it is quite a nice feeling.

Where the words have failed to come in most weeks, this week I have been able to pump a post every day. I can't remember the last time I was able to do such a feat. Sure the words may not have been the greatest but they were better than nothing and for that I am thankful.

I am particularly thankful to Lydia because whether she knows it or not she does an incredible job at motivating me to try and get some words out once a week. She has been the only regular linker for Thankful Thursday and for that I am super thankful. She also nominated me for a Liebster award which is one of the reasons I have been able to post every day so far this week.

Other things I am thankful for this week include

*  getting a heap of housework out of the way so I don't feel so overwhelmed by it
*  finally finding a pattern for a beanie that looks like it might actually fit me, my last two attempts      have been far too small for my apparently big noggin. Not that the little two have complained because it has meant they have each got a new beanie
* Lovely attending school each day without too much of a battle
* the power bill not being nearly as high as I expected despite using the heater a lot.

Now you, 

What are you thankful for?

An InLinkz Link-up

Liebster Award

The other day as I was flapping about in the land of Facebook I noticed that someone was sharing the joy that they had been nominated for the Liebster Award. I let out a bit of a sigh and wished that someone would be so kind as to nominate yours truly for one.

Sure I have been nominated a few times before in the past back in my APL days but it is always nice to know that someone is thinking of you when these things go around. Technically though I figured that would never happen again because I thought that one of the requirements was to have fewer than 200 followers.

As it turns out though I was wrong. On all fronts.

Firstly the ever so lovely Lydia over at Where the Wild Things Were kindly made my day and nominated me. In the process of writing this post I was curious to see if there were any 'official rules' as such for the Liebster Award and as it turns out (not really surprisingly) there is a post stating what the official rules are.

Anyways without any further ado here are the answers to the questions from Lydia

What makes you happy?
Right this very moment the things making me happy include knowing I am relatively on top of the housework, the fact that I am writing something, the cool Jazz station I found on iTunes radio and the yummy fruit toast I just finished devouring.

Other things that generally make me happy include coffee, running, hanging with Mr Awesome, watching the girls interact, being on the road, the bush, the beach, actually just nature in general.

Why did you start blogging?
Gosh, I started blogging so long ago it is hard to remember the exact reasoning.

I have always wanted to be a writer. When I was about fourteen I just knew that one day I would have a book published. I had the feeling that it probably wouldn't happen till I was in my fifties though so I never bothered actually writing much.

When Zany was little I knew that I didn't want to go back to real work so I tried my hand at earning money online. Writing seemed like the easiest way to do that. Of course it wasn't. I did however make some money from selling online articles and from there it just seemed a natural progression to start a blog. I wanted a place to direct people to if they wanted to read more of my words.

What is the best thing anyone has ever said about your blog?
A few years ago at a blogging conference I was hanging out with a group of bloggers. We were discussing different types of blogs and their successes. At the time lots of the 'big bloggers' all had horrendously sad back stories. Someone was telling someone else how in her darkest days she would pop over and read my blog to pick herself up again.

My heart nearly melted.

I loved that my words could make someone feel better about things without me even realising it.

Mind you since then there have been times when I have felt incredible pressure (from my own stupid mind) to make sure that my words are still uplifting and positive.

What are your top three bucket list items?
I actually don't have a bucket list. Some of the things I do want to do though include finishing our lap of Australia and having a book published.

What is the one thing you can't live without?
I think a better way to word this question would be what is the one thing I don't want to live without. The obvious answers being Mr Awesome and the girls. Material possessions are easily done without in my book. Having said that though living without decent internet is incredibly sucky.

What is your favourite Australian travel destination?
Uhmmmmm....yeah...

Have you travelled Australia? It is a truly amazing place and picking a favourite is incredibly hard. If I had to narrow it down it would be a toss up between Ningaloo and the Valley of the Giants. Mind you the Wetlands of the Northern Territory still hold a special place in my heart and I would love to see the Daintree region and High Country in Victoria.

What two countries make you happiest to visit?
Honestly I don't have much of a desire to travel overseas. Sure it would be pretty cool to see France or Italy or even some of the Greek Islands, but I am also rather content exploring my own back yard for now.

What is your favourite and least favourite word?
Well my least favourite word is just awful. Thankfully it is not one that is generally used often and I dislike it so much I just refuse to say it. Even thinking about it now just makes me cringe. It starts with C if you really must know and that is all that I will say about that.

Obviously being a writer I am a bit of a lover of words in general but I am not sure I have a favourite. Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious is a rather cool word but I do not use it on a regular basis. Magnanimous is also on the cool list but again not something I actually use much.

If you found out that due to a mix up at the hospital one of your kids wasn't yours, would you give it back?
If I found out today no, not a chance. If however I found out after the first few weeks of birth then quite possibly.

So now the hard part.

Choosing three other bloggers to pass this award onto and share the warm ad fuzzy feeling with.

Drum roll please for....

I opened my mouth and it ran away without me

Nessville


Colours of Sunset

I will make them come, the words that is.

As another Monday night slowly slips on by I am rather thankful to have had my laptop gently resting on my lap. While I may not have managed to get out any words as yet it has done a fantastic job of warming me up. It is fair to say the novelty of winter is wearing off.

When last we met I mentioned how the words are not exactly coming easy to me. They still aren't but I refuse to just walk away. I really want to be a writer. I want my words to make a difference. To me and possibly even those that do not know me.

I know that I said life hasn't really been tough lately, but it has. Sure my tough is not as tough as what I know others are doing it, which is why I tried to dismiss it as not being tough, but at the end of the day it is all relative.

Most of my toughness revolves around Lovely. She manages to challenge me in ways I never imagined possible. These challenges often leave me feeling somewhat shattered and even broken. Not to mention like a complete failure as a parent.

Since I am trying to move away from the whole parent blogging thing none of it are things I want to discuss here. Which is kinda sucky because if I don't discuss things here I don't really have anywhere to discuss things. Tis a sad and lonely life I lead at times.

Actually in all seriousness though I have realised that my shortage of people to discuss things at length with is probably related to my inability to make the words come out here. Before when I was regularly talking to a wide range of people, especially one or two that were fellow bloggers, ok so just the one really but whateves, my inclination to write was a lot higher.

The thoughts that flowed through the chasms of my mind seemed to stick around long enough to actually turn into coherent words. Whereas now, my interaction with fellow adults is so limited on account of still not really knowing anyone all my thoughts seem to bounce on by before I have the chance to work out exactly what they may mean.

The weirdest part of all of this is that I never before realised my need to talk to people. In fact, I had always thought I was somewhat of a recluse but perhaps not.

Anyway for now all that matters is I have rambled on long enough for this to be a blog post. A blog post that can be published on a Tuesday so I can join in with all the fun and games of IBOT with EssentiallyJess. Yay!

Making the words come out

Life feels like it has been particularly hard of late. It hasn't been mind you. It just feels that way.

My life is one that is full of so many blessings I often feel that I should never complain. I have the most wonderful husband, three amazing daughters, a roof over our head and there is always good on the table. Essentially all our needs are met, yet there often feels like something is missing. 

Something I just can't seem to put my finger on which makes it rather difficult to locate. 

With Teapot at school now my days are free for me to fill as I see fit. One could be mistaken for thinking that meant our home is meticulously kept and words are constantly flowing from my fingertips since I have an abundance of time to sit and write. 

For the most part I guess the house is in relative order. Words however, have never failed me more than now. 

I have a terrible case of stage fright and writer's block. Which is essentially just another way to say I am filled with self doubt and fear. 

Last week I finally managed to pull out my dodgy manuscript and start re typing it. In a bizarre twist of fate I have lost all digital copies but was able to locate printed copy as we packed up for #ouradventureofalifetime last year. 

Naturally I brought it with us. I thought while we were on the road would be a perfect time to rewrite and edit it. Naturally I was grossly mistaken. I pulled it out once at the end of October and feebly attempted to look at it while supervising the kids as they swum.

The same thing happened to me then as it did last week. As my eyes tried to make sense of the words before my body contracted and cringed.

Whatever was I thinking? Wanting to be a writer...

Oh the sighing.

Thankful for running and free videos

It has been another action packed week here in the Awesome house. So action packed in fact that I have not been able to find the time to blog. Well, that is not completely true. I managed to get this much out the other day

It's Tuesday and I am adamant that I will blog. I have a mere two hours and forty three minutes in which to tap something out so that I can join in with the ever awesome Essentially Jess for her IBOT linky.

Mind you I have been trying to get something out all day long and as yet I have been relatively unsuccessful. Of course sitting here watching The Interview isn't is exactly...

I closed the laptop on account of the movie looking like it showed the promise of being watchable. I was wrong. Oh so wrong. Thankfully though it was a free movie so other than my time nothing was lost. 

After getting my WA drivers license a few weeks ago, I got around to joining the local video store. Since Mr Awesome got rid of Netflix the only hope I have of finishing my How I Met Your Mother marathon is via DVD. 

I went to hire the season I had started but not finished only the guy at the counter couldn't get the case opened. Thankfully though the other store in town had a copy and on account of the inconvenience of making me drive five minutes to go and collect it, it was free.

For days, I waited for the right time to snuggle up in bed and return to my fictitious friends. The only DVD player we had was in the bedroom you see. When finally that time was found, late on a Saturday afternoon, it turned out that there was only one episode of the season I had not seen. I was rather thankful that it had turned out to be a free hire!

My other big thanks of the week goes to running. Twice this week I got the old joggers on and went for a run. Man it felt good. One run was all about seeing how far I could go without stopping and the other was to go as fast as I could. I am so thankful that I have the time, inclination and health to get out there and move.

What about you? 

What are you thankful for this week?

An InLinkz Link-up