Tag: a-z challenge

O is for Opossum — A-Z Challenge

I admit that I was afraid of/repulsed by possums for a long time (anything that has FIFTY teeth is frightening to me) but then I educated myself about them (see the L is for Learning post) and realized they’re pretty cool.

Here’s why:

  1. They destroy ticks. A single opossum can eat 5,000 ticks a year!
  2. They kill venomous snakes.
  3. Unlike other mammals, they’re immune to rabies.
  4. They eat garden pests like slugs.

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Since I felt badly for maligning North America’s only marsupial for so long, I gave Matty, a possum who sounds like Lauren Bacall,  a heroic role in THE HITWOMAN AND THE GOLD DIGGER.

 

M is for Meditation — A-Z Challenge

It took me a long time to develop my meditation habit.

I knew the benefits of it such as stress reduction, increased attention, and improved sleep, but I just couldn’t make myself do it. I was too scattered. Too fidgety. Too impatient for it to be over.

Last year I finally “got it” with the help of Insight Timer.

Here’s what worked for me:

— I don’t sit cross-legged. (I have bad knees and this was just physical torture.) I don’t even sit on the floor. I do however have a physical cue that it’s time to meditate. I hold crystals like these. Since I don’t normally walk around with rocks in my hands, my body knows it’s time to be still when I pick these up.

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— I started small. Three minutes to start.  Even that was challenging. Now I do a minimum of 45 minutes, but my “sweet spot” is about an hour to seventy minutes.

— At first I used guided meditations, then I progressed to using the timer with “reminder” bells to keep me focused.  I still use the timer, minus the reminders, because it keeps me from checking the clock.

My sleep has improved, my attention is better and I’m less stressed.

Do you meditate?

L is for Learn — A-Z Challenge

You know that saying, “There’s no such thing as a stupid question.”?

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I agree with that, but one of my pet peeves is LAZY questions, or worse, people who have no questions.

We passed the Age of Enlightenment a long time ago, but why isn’t this the age of Self Expansion? For the first time in human existence, we have access to the knowledge of all of mankind. All it takes is a Google search!

Part of me is a naturally curious person, but I’ve conciously trained myself to be more so.

If I see something in the news or in my life that I don’t quite understand, I look it up. Everything is there — history, science, politics, song lyrics, meanings (I recently looked up “tongue-in-cheek”after a moment of panic that I’d been using the phrase incorrectly my whole life).

I’m never going to be the smartest person in the room, but I’m always open to improving myself.

What about you?

K is for Klondike — A-Z Challenge

My writer pal, DB MNicol writes the Klondike Mysteries (set in Pennsylvania!)

When a retreat becomes a nightmare…

When Cherie Marshall catches her fiancé and best friend in a compromising position, she cancels her upcoming wedding and jumps at the chance to escape to quiet Klondike, Pennsylvania to care for her elderly aunt. She thought her biggest issue would be adapting to life in the middle of a National Forest, so very different from her upbringing in the deserts of Arizona.

But that was before she met State Trooper Fire Marshall Jamison “Jazz” Maddox at the scene of a mysterious fire. As they both become acquainted with the close-knit Klondike residents, things get complicated as Cherie and Jazz find themselves in the middle of a local crime wave where arson, kidnapping, embezzlement and a decades-old murder are just the tip of the iceberg.

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There are currently three books available in the series. Check them out!

J is for Juggle — A-Z Challenge

One of the things I’m trying to learn to do this year is juggle.  I got it into my head that it would be good for my brain. I’m a woman who knows her limitations so I bought the Klutz version thinking I needed all the help I can get.

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So far it’s not going well.  Mostly it consists of me alternately swearing and yelling at the dog, “No! Leave it!” every time I drop a bean bag….which is ALL the time.

 

I also decided it would be good for me to learn how to draw. I haven’t even managed to muster the willpower to make myself practice that yet.

Too much failure at one time can’t be good for me, right?

Are YOU trying to learn anything?

G is for Ghost — A-Z Challenge

Do you believe in ghosts?

That’s a loaded question. It’s almost as divisive as asking someone if they prefer Coke or Pepsi.

So I’ll just remind you that I wrote THE HITWOMAN HUNTS A GHOST which begins with the line

“You know it’s going to be a bad day when God tells you to call in sick.”

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Bumbling hitwoman Maggie Lee has discovered the sister she thought was dead might be alive. She’s desperate to find her, but all of her bosses are making unreasonable demands. Demands she can’t afford not to meet.

Once again, Delveccio, the chocolate pudding loving mob boss, needs someone whacked.

Her obnoxious boss at her day job insists she intervene on his behalf with her semi-psychic friend, Armani.

And the mysterious organization with the power to put her almost-lover Patrick behind bars has saddled her with an annoying new partner and sent her on a mission that has gone to the dogs.

With the clock ticking, Maggie (along with her snarky lizard, dyslexic Doberman and Southern belle cat) does her best to pull off every job without winding up in jail or dead…but is her best good enough?

F is for Flowers & Fromage — A-Z Challenge

The two purchases I’m most likely to treat myself to are flowers and cheese.

Because they make me happy, I buy myself flowers regularly. (Nothing fancy. I get carnations, for four bucks from the supermarket.) For the first week, they stay in this pitcher, which is one of my prized possessions.

It was hand-painted by a woman I met in San Antonio who didn’t take up painting until she was eighty. EIGHTY!!!  Isn’t that inspiring??

 

 

After that, they get trimmed down and are placed in six tiny bud vases that are scattered around my home. Little splashes of color and scent that make me smile.

I’m pretty obsessed with flowers, so check out my Instagram for more blooms!

 

My other favorite treat is cheese.

I pretty much like all kinds, though recently I’ve been enjoying an espresso rubbed dessert cheese. Here’s the description from the maker….caution it may make you drool.

The Bellavitano style, unique to Wisconsin, features a rich and creamy texture with a great, cravable taste reminiscent of an aged, premium Wisconsin Cheddar balanced by a full flavored Parmesan. This Bellavitano is hand-rubbed with freshly roasted espresso, creating a truly unique flavor, delicious for breakfast, dessert, or whenever your taste buds desire! The combination of Cheddar and Parmesan give this Cheese a terrific texture, somewhere between creamy and rich and crunchy and granular.
What do YOU like to treat yourself to?

 

E is for Eyeglasses — A-Z challenge

I must say I’m not a huge fan of eyeglasses. While I appreciate that they keep me from stumbling around blindly, they also complicate life.

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I’ve been wearing glasses since first grade (not fun!) and I’ve got a pretty strong prescription.

If I’m going to be out, I prefer to wear my contact lenses because they afford me better peripheral vision and I can block out some of the bright Florida sun with sunglasses. Not to mention that stepping out of an air-conditioned car into Florida’s heat and humidity can make eyeglass lenses fog up.

But…I find it difficult to read and write while wearing them, despite having multi-focal contacts, so, when I’m working at home, I prefer to wear my glasses.  (Honestly, if I’m reading a book or my Kindle I take off my glasses and just hold whatever I’m reading about three inches away from my face.)

Recently I switched to lenses that are supposed to filter the blue light of computer screens. In theory, this is supposed to help alleviate eye strain. I’m not sure if it’s not working or if I’m just tired, lol.