YES!!

My wonderful husband knew I've been missing my old passion since we'd first met. I've played drums from the 7th grade through college, then went for a long time (yes, I'm old) without due my various living conditions throughout the years. Funny, neighbors in apartment complexes and suburban house-rental neighborhoods don't seem to enjoy the sound of loud accoustic drum sets. I always thought an electronic set would be the best of both worlds, since they have a very realistic sound that you can alter to your taste while quieting the sound down a great deal through the use of headphones.

This year he wanted a gift for both of us (he's always wanted to learn to play the drums) for Christmas. He had been saving and found a good deal around the holidays for the 'set'. It's a little challenging trying it out when Jake is around, because when he sees someone hitting an object with sticks it looks like too much fun and he wants to try it himself. I've found the best time is after his bedtime with headphones on.

I've pulled out old music books and am relearning what seemed easy (er) back in high school. It's amazing how certain muscles don't work so good as you get older! I remember drumming being a good stress-relieving hobby and I am starting to see that again as my technique is being slowly dusted off and replenished. I absolutely love the set and am so thankful that we were able to get it.

No matter what your age, schedule and place in life, find a way to follow your passions.

NaNo DONE!!!

After 28 days of concentrated (and often mindless) plot and character development, backdrop creation, describing images and trying to tie everything together by the November 30th deadline, I finally came to the end of my creation called the 50,000 word novel. Whew!

There were days that were exciting when the story seemed to write itself, while others were painful while plodding through what I call 'filler' dialog that moves the plot from one exciting point to the next one. I oftentimes fell asleep at night trying to mentally work out which character was going to do what to whom and why. I found a difficult thing was to keep track of everything going on in the story and had to resort to an outline book that I could carry in my purse to jot down ideas, character names and record story items that I would forget 50 pages later. No matter, because I was able to force myself to keep working toward this insurmountable goal.

During the last few paragraphs, I constantly clicked 'word count' and stressed over tying the story, characters and images into what I had envisioned I could. I sprinted out the last bit of it ending two days early and earning the ability to rejoin my family back in the non-fictional world. It will probably take at least a week (in combination with an Ibuprofen-based product) to work out all the kinks in my neck and hands from all the intent typing I spent on my laptop. But I emerged victorious, and had a very unedited throw-together 50,000 word novel to show for a crazy month of literary exploration. Final word count: 50,930; total number of pages: 180.

At this point I'm not making any commitments for writing NaNo next year, but who knows. It was a fun challenge and I feel good about finishing. Now time to start the Christmas shopping :)

NaNoWriMo??!!

I have undertaken an endeavor that I've been putting off for years. The notion has always been an intriguing one, but I've always had a million and one excuses as to why I couldn't make the attempt. What is NaNoWriMo, do you ask? It's not a freaky dance, nor an exotic cooking style, nor a board game. NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month and takes place every November. The NaNo creators (you can find them at www.nanowrimo.org) challenge anyone to write a 50,000 word novel in one month. Although 50,000 words doesn't make a relatively large novel, it does make a great challenge to create a fictional novel from start to finish in a 30 day period.

NaNo is all about output. I've started many stories in the past I've had great hopes of turning into an actual novel one day, but Alas, they remain even now in the short story category because my steam runs out too quickly. One thing the NaNo people reiterate multiple times is when you do this, you WILL write a bunch of crap (hey, at least they're honest). But what this can do for you as a writer is force you to write and write and write, which helps negate the novel burn-out factor many of us experience with writing such a large story.

What helps people succeed in this challenge which doesn't occur for most of us non-employed novelists is one thing: a deadline. It's like most any other challenge (physical or mental) - when you consider doing something not easy, it's intriguing, but the excuse monster appears to say 'you can't accomplish that', 'you don't have time to do that', 'you don't have the ability to accomplish that'. Common people - enough with the negative excuses already!!!

We all waste so much time making excuses as to why we can't succeed in many things: weight loss (been there), remaining in a job we hate (been there), not completing schooling we have 'always' wanted to do (been there), not traveling to places we've always wanted to go (been there), and so much more. I digress...back to NaNoWRiMo, it's a challenge to write 50,000 words and you "win" if you complete it by the November 30th deadline. My sister-in-law has done it 3 times, numerous people complete it every year, and I believe the NaNoWriMo currently has over 115,000 people registered on their website to give it a try. I agree that November, with the holiday season looming, makes for an awful month for such an endeavor. But what the heck, we only live once, right?!

Gotta get back to writing. Word count is currently 22,629 and growing...

We All Need Our Bunco Night

I have no problem with my husband meeting his friend after work once in awhile. The two get to vent about their jobs, discuss the history of classic rock bands and solve the most complex scientific problems, all over a beer at the local bar. My husband gets to do the male bonding thing and reconnect with his friend, all while getting some much needed stress relief during his own time.

I think that's so important for everyone to get their own time. Sounds harsh, but parents sometimes need their time away from kids, spouses need time away from each other, and EVERYONE needs time away from work. Its time to recharge your batteries and let yourself be you. You need to take a little time and drop the labels of spouse, student, parent, co-worker, etc and find that person you rarely let out.

I've been involved in a monthly Bunco group for a few months now and it's great. I didn't realize how nice it was to just get around other women in a social environment. Bunco is a fun little dice game which involves 20 players and, since everyone has a buy-in amount, you get a chance to win some money at the end of the night. The evening starts with a pot-luck and socializing. Many of these women don't see each other more than the once a month Bunco night, so it's a great time to catch up. But when the bell rings, the game's on! There are constant screams of 'Bunco' or 'Traveling' (you just have to be there). During the middle of the game we stop for a dessert break and more socializing, then end with the second half of the game playing and the final prize distribution to the winners of the night. It's a time to get loud and have fun, even if it's not in your personality normally.

Now, I'm not saying everyone should go off with their friend(s) and engage in an activity in order to get some 'me' time. So do what's fun for you - join a club, a bowling league, a mom's group, go out with a friend for a beer (or other alcoholic or coffee based drink of your choice), or even go for a bike ride or walk by yourself. It's different for everyone, but it's JUST AS IMPORTANT for everyone as well. We all need time away from our normal lives at times to recharge and find ourselves. Without it, we get into the same rut everyone falls into at times. So don't feel guilty about it - escape on your own once in awhile. We all need our Bunco night, right?

The Wizard

There is a man that lives under the following philosophies:

- Enjoy the path of success for life is a journey, not a destination

- Life is great, don't let anyone control your destiny

- We must keep moving in a positive direction

- Choose happiness

- Keep your eyes to the sky

- Help someone everyday

John P. Kolb is a man living in retirement in Utah. When I say 'retirement', I mean from the corporate world. He has held positions to include a CEO of a medical facility, the Vice President of Human Resources of Coca-Cola, a personnel director and an Account Executive, to name a few. Mr. Kolb served as a Sergeant in the Marines for five years and has obtained his masters degree in management. But Mr. Kolb, although he had attained respected positions throughout his career, has attained much more than most.

When my sister-in-law Cheryl and I visited Red Mountain Spa, we went on a nighttime adventure called 'An Evening With The Stars', which was hosted by Mr. Kolb. This man allowed the tour group to his house and showed us the most beautiful view of the stars through two high-powered telescopes. He also showed us quite an impressive array of stones he collected through years of rock hunting. During his presentations, what both Cheryl and I noticed the most was the absolute passion Mr. Kolb displayed.

Here was a man, now retired from a successful corporate career, was still excited to live and learn and experience life. He is proud of his kids (check out his son's band website - great bluesy sounds at http://www.klobsong.com/) and loves his wife (whom he fondly refers to as The Lady Of The Red Desert), and keeps busy with an array of activities that includes running Wizard Stones LLC, consulting, teaching finance part time at Dixie State University, teaching Microsoft programs and photography on cruise lines, and showing tourists like myself the magic of the night sky. In addition, for three years Mr. Kolb hosted a radio show in Las Vegas called 'The Thought Of The Day', where he tried to pass on the positive energy to anyone who would listen. I don't know about you, but I'm not that busy with a full time job and a 3 year old!

My point is this: Most of us go through our lives HAVING to do things (i.e. job, bills, taxes, etc) and forget that passion should be our driving factor. Our careers and the other more unpleasant activities of our life can quickly become the overwhelming driving force in our lives. Our work is only supposed to support our family and fun, but not the other way around, right? John Kolb is so passionate about rock hunting and astronomy, and spends his time learning and doing as much as he can in those areas. He's so passionate about those areas that he wants to share his excitement with others. I find myself thinking how it would be fun to do _____ [INSERT INTERESTING ACTIVITY HERE], but I'm so busy with work this week so I settle with 5 minutes of Internet surfing on that activity instead of just DOING it. How much time have I wasted on work stress or worrying about things that I can't control, instead of doing something fun with my family? Why do I choose to work late to try and get 'caught up' on my caseload (I've learned that this concept is an illusion, by the way), when I can come home to my family and plan a fun weekend activity?

My personal philosophy is this: life is what you make of it. If you are unhappy or stressed or display any one of the other myriad of negative emotions over where you are in life, it's because YOU put you there, and YOU are the only one who can change your situation and make it what you want. We should not trade out our passions because of poor time management and inability to prioritize what's truly important to us. Mr. Kolb, thank you for your example of following your passions and living life the way you want to live it.

Life is a journey, not a destination.

Fall Traditions

I enjoy the summer with it's heat and outdoor water-related activities. My husband loathes the heat but I love hanging out in shorts and a t-shirt, soaking up the sun while at the same time enjoying escape into an air-conditioned environment. But I'm not sad to see summer leave because my favorite season follows. Fall just exudes comfort and coziness. It's time to start the fires in the fireplace, smell the rain and feel the crispness of the air in the mornings. The trees are turning and losing leaves. And now it's time to start prepping for the upcoming holidays, which always seem to fly by in a blur toward the end.

The family headed up to Apple Hill today, a Fall favorite my husband and I have always enjoyed. We threw our diets out the window when we enjoyed a Boa Vista apple fritter (but resisted the urge to purchase the frozen apple pie, which continued to call to me as we drove away :'( As we drove up to what my son calls the 'pukin patch', his mouth literally dropped at the sight of endless orange balls. My husband and I hurried to educate him on proper pumpkin patch etiquette (i.e. no throwing, dropping or kicking the pumpkins). He was content with running from pumpkin to pumpkin and touching each one, shouting, 'pukin'! We later took him on a little train ride around a duck pond at El Dorado farms, which he learned how to stand in line and wait your turn (not something he necessarily enjoyed doing but he hung in there).

Last night we hung with our good friends, who are originally from Sweden. They mentioned a tradition their family indulges in at this time of year, which is a warm drink called Glug. I enjoy the virgin glug, which is a sweet combination of sugar, cinnamon, raisin, orange and clove flavors. It's when brandy or other liquor item is added kind of kills the flavor for me. But to each his own! I'm the same way when it comes to Egg Nog - the less added the better.

My family has a rather strange but long standing tradition simply called 'Fred' (yeah, my relatives reading this right now are shaking their head with this one). The original Fred was a (very tacky) laughing Buddha statue purchased by my older cousins at a flea market. Legend tells of this well thought-out purchase was a result of an exorbitant amount of alcohol. Fred was passed from person to person in our family on Christmas Eve. When you saw your name on the strangely large present you knew you were in for a one year stay. When Fred was presented to his new host family, a letter was read aloud detailing his adventures from the past year. Fred was happy, adventurous and a bit of a lush (do we sense a pattern?). He loved to chase women and always seemed to adapt well to his environment. If you became the Fred host for the year, then the rule was Fred must remain in the open at your residence, which excludes any closets or garages. At the end of the year Fred is passed onto another host family. The sad thing was the original Fred was lost along the way, so Fred Jr. emerged to keep on the tradition. Ok, we're weird.

What Fall traditions exist in your world?

The Playground

Whenever my husband and I utter the words "the playground", my almost 3 year old son perks up to the equivalent of a triple latte. Lately we've been using the verbage, "Should we take him to the PG today?", and he instantly started to shout, "I want to go to the PG!". When I asked him what "PG" stood for, he matter-of-factly said, "the playground". So much for abbreviations...

When we took him to the PG on a quite Sunday, I took time to observe how he approached it. Jacob gingerly walked onto one of the play areas, then stood back and watched the other kids for awhile. It didn't look like he was scared to interact with the other kids who were deeply entrenched in make-believe adventures while climbing the ladders and traversing the slides. What I see in my son is a very analytical side, one who likes to watch everything, then inspect it some more in order to figure out how it works for himself (he takes after his Papa). Jacob would then start playing in an area, then stop and watch the kids again. He definitely didn't rush the process of the playground.

Every time we've taken him to a playground, I see similar interactions each time. There usually is an older kid who is leading several other kids on an adventure, a kid not playing well with their sibling, a bully who gets courage when he/she thinks the adults are looking the other direction, and the social kid who likes to make new friends with everyone. I see my son as the observer who studies the interaction before entering the fray.

I think most of us go to a playground (of sorts) everyday. Whether it's at work, the grocery store or at the gym, we as adults deal with other personality types that are often challenging (to say the least). Some people take charge even when their leadership is not welcomed or necessary. Some people will follow the actions of others just to fit in with the group. We have the adult bullies who usually run the intimidation angle, and the socialites who can get along with everyone.

How successful would we all be in life if we occasionally take 'the observer' to heart? My son may be onto something by first studying his peers and not letting himself fall into the surrounding drama without question. Maybe we should take things slower and take time to observe, in order to better understand what we are getting ourselves into. It's everyone's choice as to how they play along with others, and it's good to be versitile with all the situations we get ourselves into. That way we don't end up playing on the lame slide in our PG :)