“Proper planning and preparation prevent poor performance.” Stephen Keague
This was the plan I drew up for my garden last year.
It was a bit ambitious, I must admit. But with the world shut down due to a pandemic and me working remotely, I had some extra time to think about what I wanted to grow in my 2020 pandemic garden.
I’m not a doomsday prepper by any means, but what I saw going on in the world concerned me.
People were swarming the grocery stores, buying up everything—hoarding toilet paper, flour, yeast, water, and tortillas.
I have to admit…
I did. But I’ve got a plan to change that.
I hate it when I set a lofty goal, full of enthusiasm and organization, all my ducks in a row, only to vie off track a few short weeks later.
It always makes me feel miserable for myself.
One missed day turns into two, and then three. Then the realization that I’ve failed once again makes me overeat.
It might also result in a night of excessive drinking. Or several nights of excessive drinking. Or an online spending binge on crap I don’t need.
A full-on pity party.
I stop showing up to my new exercise class because I’ve secretly…
If people of any other color had scaled the Capitol walls, busted windows, and stormed the House and Senate floors, the National Guard would have been called out to shoot them.
In September 2019, it was noted that Trump had said the words “no collusion” no less than 231 times.
By January, I’m sure that number had quadrupled. It seemed like those were the only two words he could say with his hands waiving to and fro for extra effect.
Recently, he has compulsively claimed “voter fraud,” used the word “stolen” excessively, and claimed to be the “Best President the US has ever had.”
Psychologist Tom Stafford explains, “Repetition makes a fact seem more true, regardless of whether it is or not. Understanding this effect can help you avoid falling for…
Is social media causing digital multiple-personality disorder?
I’m at work and I have two computer screens on my desk, an iPad to my right, and my Android phone to my left.
Microsoft Outlook is constantly sending notifications that my work email inbox is filling up. My personal Ipad is also sending me notifications from Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and eBay, and Gmail telling me my personal email inbox is filling up.
Text messages are coming in on my cellphone from my sister, my mom, two of my children, my husband, and the dentist's office with a dental appointment reminder.
It never stops.
Each screen represents a window into every facet of my world.
Each one has a different purpose…
When can you tell it’s Morel season? When the Morel chatrooms get quiet.
“Oh Morel, oh Morel. Where art thou, oh elusive Morel.” ~ Me.
Every year.
I can’t think of a better reason to get me out of the house and into the woods than morel season!
As old man winter eases his grip on the northern part of the country, eager hunters are looking forward to finding the motherload.
At least that’s what they’re envisioning. Like little sugar plum morel fairies dancing in their heads.
Morel hunting brings out the competitor in a person.
Don’t ever ask a morel hunter where their “spot” is. They won’t tell…
“Laughter is an instant vacation.” ~ Milton Berle
God, I love a good joke! A good prank, a funny meme.
I love to laugh, and I love to make people laugh. I love to hear laughter.
It just feels good.
Even when you’re down in the dumps, if someone comes along and makes you smile, doesn’t it just lift a load off you? Even if only temporarily?
I remember my dad sauntering up to my mom, smiling his boyish grin saying coyly, “Don’t you smile, Kay. Don’t smile. Don’t you smile, Katydid?”
This was his strategy when in the doghouse for some minor irritation he had caused my mom.
She would respond…
Four toxic personality types to steer clear of for a happier life.
“Toxic people defy logic. Some are blissfully unaware of the negative impact they have on those around them, and others seem to derive satisfaction from creating chaos and pushing other people’s buttons.” — Travis Bradberry
I can tell you from personal experience, dealing with a toxic person can be soul-sucking. They disrupt our lives in ways that can affect our goals and plans for life.
They can challenge your core values and beliefs. They can make you second guess yourself, question your decisions and your plans.
They can squash your dreams without a second thought and not give a rat's…
Herbs that can ease menopausal symptoms naturally.
As a kid, I would never admit to having a sore throat, lest I’d be given a slippery elm bark to suck on.
My mother was very holistic and organic in her approach to health and wellness.
Nausea was treated with peppermint tea.
The first sign of sniffles was sure to bring out the Echinacea in any form. Tincture under the tongue, homemade lozenges with honey, or in a stiff bourbon tea.
If you complained of a headache, you got some elderberry tea or syrup.
When I was trying to go into labor, I was served up a concoction only…
Day 2, and I’m already behind. WTH?!
I committed yesterday to post one post a day for the next 30 days. But time is not on my side today.
So what do I do? Get into the drafts and pull out one of my starts and try to fudge it?
I can’t do that. I am a perfectionist, and it gets in the way of productivity.
I know the first thing I’ll do is pull up a draft, re-read it. Hate it, or at least not like it very much.
Too wordy. Too condescending. Too bossy. Too much information.
Which…
3 things I did to stop compiling drafts and start completing my writing projects.
For a few years, I’ve been wandering from one writing community to the next. Listening, reading, watching, trying to learn the craft of writing.
I’ve organized and planned and thought about it. I’ve read craft books about writing. I’ve listened to people talk about writing. I’ve listened to podcasts about writing.
I’ve filled in my notebooks and planners with post ideas. I’ve written ten ideas in my little notebook, faithfully.
I have notebooks, notecards, and post-its everywhere with ideas or character plots written on them. And I mean everywhere!
As an idea generator, I have notebooks full of stories, poems…
K.L. Bennett
Mother of 6 awesome males, music lover, photographer, avid reader, autodidact, Ninja Writer, Taurus in menopause, seeker of peace.
