I’ve been in a transition phase (again). Last month I answered Bri Saussy’s journal prompt from her Book of Hours, “What can I stop pretending to be/do?” I wrote that I need to stop pretending that I have an online business because I don’t. I can stop pretending I’m writing a book because I’m…

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    Mood. Defined as a temporary state of mind or feeling, but depression doesn’t feel that way. It lasts for months. It is still temporary. I have persistent depressive disorder (dysthymia) with episodes of major depression and Seasonal Affective Disorder. It’s not in my nature to feel happy. I do have moments of happiness…

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A portal connects points in time. Was I was inspired by Marie Kondo videos or did planetary aspects motivate me? Mountains of boxes cluttering the guest room closet pushed me over the edge. I reached the point of zero tolerance and pulled out the first box. A box of memories filled with pictures, letters, cards,…

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Where do I begin?   Start at the beginning? I don’t want to.   Start where you are. Except that if I start where I am here today by the time you, the reader, see this, I will be farther into the future.   Start future writing? I’m reading the book I wrote and thinking…

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#iamwriting #showup100 #plotterlifechallenge #writersofinstagram   Do you speak hashtag? I learned hashtag on Instagram. I’m not fluent yet but I’m improving.   I participated in #showup100 on Instagram (sponsored by Kim Manganelli) and wrote for 100 days. During that time I completed my NaNoWriMo novel and the first read through. I pulled out irrelevant scenes…

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I want to encourage women to embrace their own uniqueness. Because just like a rose is beautiful, so is a sunflower, so is a peony. I mean, all flowers are beautiful in their own way, and that’s like women too.  ~ Miranda Kerr   Body positive. Body negative. For women, body image is an extension…

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Creative expression, whether that means writing, dancing, bird-watching, or cooking, can give a person almost everything that he or she has been searching for: enlivenment, peace, meaning, and the incalculable wealth of time spent quietly in beauty. ~ Anne Lamott   The empty page. A blank canvas. Knitting needles and a ball of yarn. Fabric and thread.…

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We’re all starting to realize, this space, this internet space? It’s real! You’re real. I’m a real fucking person.  This is the real world. And we need to be real people in it. ~ Tracey Anne Duncan, Strategic Storytelling   “Who am I? Why am I here? What am I going to do?” are the questions…

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We write to taste life twice: in the moment and in retrospection. ~ Anaïs Nin   Retrospection, the action, or process of looking back on things is something I’ve been obsessed with my whole life. Starting with a diary in third grade, I wrote things like, “Joni is a brat.” And, “Johnny let me ride…

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Some days are dark and depressing. The news is difficult to digest. Like many of my friends, I’ve been struggling with it all. Then, one day I happened upon a marvelous quote.   Maybe we should develop a Crayola bomb as our next secret weapon. A happiness weapon. A beauty bomb. And every time a…

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