#tbt - what's the word

a little bit of a different #tbt today.

it's january
which gets me thinking about
resolutions
and fresh starts
and goals and lists and
all that stuff just makes my heart race
with geeky excitement
even though
i am cynic enough
to realize
that every year
i make a lot of the
exact
same
resolutions
and don't normally stick to them...
but the optimist in me is still
cheering
and waving her pretend pompoms...yelling
this year will be different,
this year you can DO IT!
:)

and every year, i choose a word
to be the backdrop for my year...
last year, it was happy
but, in all honesty,
last year
was not my happiest year.

2015 was risk...
and it's funny as i read what i wrote
in 2015...
it feels very similar to what i thought about today
as i chose my word for 2017...
only...maybe less negative sounding...
i haven't fully decided yet if it is the right word for 2017
(hey...a year is a long time to be stuck
with a word that sucks!)
but i feel pretty close.

what about you?
do you choose a word?  a theme? 
make resolutions?  break resolutions?
i'd totally love to know that there are
others out there like me...
:)
 

toes in my nose, you say?

i had the opportunity to attend a full day workshop
saturday with Sheree Fitch, author of kids favorites such as
toes in my nose
and there's a mouse in my house..

i was familiar with her work both from
having read her books to my own kids
and from when i worked at the bookstore
(which seems so long ago now...).

i wasn't aware, however, that she also wrote fiction for adults!
i will definitely be checking that out...

there were two workshops today...
one on writing children's literature (and if you know me,
you know how i feel about that subject!)
and one on "how to write that book that you need to write"...
(another topic that i have been struggling with)
(for years actually).

at one point, she asked us "what are you afraid of"
what is holding you back?  what fear is keeping you from writing?

i didn't have to look far for mine.
i know what it is.
i have spent my whole life being a book lover,
an avid reader, the wordy girl,
the nerdy kid always with a book in my hand.

i have always thought that
someday
i would write something.
someday.
and i have held on tight to that image of myself for so long,
i am scared now that if i DO write something
and i suck at it
then that part of my life is over.
right now, i can just keep thinking that someday
when i have enough time,
and the perfect space to write in,
and a stack of my favorite pens,
and a journal and a system and a plot and a timeline...
someday,
i WILL write.

i have made it something that defines me in my own head and heart
and i am worried that if i fail at it,
i will lose a big part of who i think i am supposed to be.

the truth is...
what holds me back
is
that i am scared.

that said,
if you have have an opportunity to attend a workshop
with this author,
you should definitely get your name on that list.
it was very interesting and she is extremely engaging,
very down to earth and easy to relate to.
it was a great way to spend a Saturday!

the photo below has nothing to do with the workshops...
i just thought it was pretty :)
 

View fullsize

A bit of test...and a big sigh of relief...and a very informal welcome!

today i decided, on a bit of whim, to create a new website...and then, i decided, also on a whim, to import my 10 YEAR OLD blog over to the new site...

which was terrifying.

literally.

as soon as i hit import, my stomach sank and i pictured it all. being. gone. 

but....it seems to have worked!!!         

so...if you are visiting me here...hi!!!  welcome!!! feel free to dig around...hope you find something that makes you smile or wonder or want to pick up a camera or a pen or even some crayons (i do love to color!)

i have some plans for this site....which is why i made this terrifying change...

stay tuned!

:)