A Blog About Writing

What? Me? Who? 

So, when I decided to become a blogger, the main reason behind it was just to get my writing juice flowing. I did this on the advice of a good friend who has already been signed to an agent and is well on her way. No really, she rocks. Check her out: http://lizczukas.blogspot.com/

I do write for a living. You'd think that would keep my writing "juices" flowing; alas, it does not. It actually kills that creativity in some ways. Currently at work, I'm leading the charge for the "create once, use many" concept that's currently running rampant in our space. Stay with me, I'm getting to my point. Within this movement, the big writing theory is Minimalism.  If you can say it with five words, please do not use ten words. As you can see, creative writing and technical writing don't really mesh. Or do they?

I know when I read a book, I get annoyed with flowery prose. Meaning, if you use five adjectives to describe her blue dress, I'm going to get annoyed. However; there is a happy medium. If you use five adjectives to describe her blue dress and the way it's flowing around her body as she walks on the beach on a windy day, I might be ok. (Holy prepositions batman!)That said,  I don't think you can apply all of the principals of minimalism to fiction. It'd make for a really boring book; however, you can apply some of the concepts in order to better your writing altogether.

So, what I'm saying here is that I'm having a bit of a writer's identity crisis. I know what I do for a living, and at the risk of sounding like an arrogant jerk, I'm ok at it.  When it comes to my personal works, it's actually more difficult.  It's hard to put aside the programming, which is my work writing and just let the words flow free and not worry about all of the "rules."  Mind you, I'm not daft, I realize that there are writing rules no matter what you write, but it's amazing to me the differences in these rules.

I'm slowly working through that identity crisis, and I've been debating putting some excerpts of my new works on this blog. I'm a newbie, and that terrifies me. I'll get there, maybe, eventually.......

Don't Let the Door Hit Ya....

March....See ya March, as you're no longer welcome in the Jane household.  It has brought virus after virus to Munchkin and mommy and it's GOT TO GO!

Nothing breaks my heart more than when Munchkin is sick. I so wish I could do something, anything, to wave my mommy wand and make it all better. I'm sure most moms feel the same way.

Daycare has been a wonderful thing for Munchkin, she's well ahead in her development, talks like you wouldn't believe, she's well socialized, plays well etc. The one major drawback, GERMS. When you have kids they tell you that daycare is like a petri dish of nastiness, and you nod your head and smile. Then it comes home to you and your other family members, and you get it. The first bug I caught was when she was about six months. It started with her, then took me out, then onto Mr. Jane. Seems to be the norm, starts with Munchkin, onto me, completing the cycle with Mr. Jane.  Since Mr. Jane has been traveling during this episode of "which virus is it" it looks like I'm just waiting for the doom that is the stomach flu to hit me and he could be safe. This time at least.

I have no regrets about being a working mother. Well, actually, that's another blog for another time as that's not entirely true.  What I'm saying is, daycare has provided so much to Munchkin, I'm glad she goes. But as I sit here, watching her sleep soundly on the couch, her face pale, her skin on fire, I have a pain in my heart for her.  

So, all in all, goodbye March, don't the door hit ya. Consider this my foot in March's behind. Buh-bye.

Full Circle....

Yes, it's been a month, almost two, since I've blogged.  I could say that I've been a bad blogger, but so many things have gone on in my life in the last few months, I don't feel bad at all. Life happens, and that's what this very bloggity blog is about.


In the past month, I've hit rock bottom, reconnected with old friends, found my center, lost my center, found my center again, gave up on corporate america, and went on a fantastic vacation with Mr. Jane, come back, and given up on corporate america yet again.  The cycle of life really is an interesting thing isn't it?


I think everything happens for a reason. You meet people, you see things, you hear things, all for a reason. Now what reason that is, well that's open for interpretation by you. Your reason and your reason is yours alone, that's not what this blog is about. It's odd how many people have come and gone in my life in the last 10 years and it's also odd as to who have become my constants.  Life happens, it keeps going no matter what you're doing, or how you're feeling, the cycle will continue on. It doesn't stop for anyone.  It's really a powerful thing if you think about it, we mourn our loved ones when they go, but we continue to live day to day, week to week, month to month. It's keeps going, gathering motion, steaming on, towards what, we have no idea.


I love the fact that I can go without seeing some old college friends for 10 years, and meet up on a whim, and pick right back up where we left off (is that a good thing? I don't know!). I have seen some friends leave this past year, but that's ok, it's better for all involved, but I've also gained some new friends. I think as long as you know who your constants are (in my case Mr. Jane and Munchkin). I think once you've got that figured out, the rest of it is just cake, isn't it?


Yes, what a ramble this post is, hopefully I'll be writing more now that I've figured out some things. Bottom line, love your constants...they are what matter. 

Booty Shakin' Hippity Hoppity

Here's today's topic: booty shakin' music from back in the day. I don't care if you're day was 1993 or your day was 1933, there's got to be some music that makes you shake it a little as you dance around your kitchen, get on your treadmill, or write some fantastic part of your novel where your main characters are at a rave with glow sticks.  

The subject matter of this blog came to me as I was downloading some music on iTunes to build into a running playlist. Mind you, I did this at work because; well, my focus is a bit off, but I digress.  When I run, I need the music to keep tempo for me as it distracts me from the dire pain and exhaustion my body is currently enduring. Alas, I like to get into my workout music. This prompted me to think about the last 20 years or so and remember back to some of favorite all-time booty shakin' tunes.

1. Bust-A-Move (Young Mc) Classic old school (for me) and it makes me giggle every time I hear it.
2. Summertime (Will Smith) My favorite line is, "She turns around to see what you beepin' at."  Classic.
3. Smooth Criminal (Michael Jackson) My daughter is especially fond of this tune and loves to have a dance party in our living room with it.
4. Mama Said Knock You Out (LL Cool J) In my opinion, Mama and knock you out can't be in the same sentence enough.
5. Billy Jean (Michael Jackson) because you just can't get enough of old school MJ.

Now, for those of you reading this, this does not directly reflect my taste in music, as I pretty much love most music and am not a major R&B, Hip Hop fan. Sometimes, you just need to get yourself in a fun kind of mood or groove to get your butt moving on a treadmill, in the dead of winter, in Wisconsin. I'm just saying. I've got some more modern stuff on there, and I'm going to put myself out there and admit that the following tunes also get me moving, and I'm not 16.

1. We R Who we R (Ke$ha) because we're hitting on dudes....hard.
2. Like a G6 (Far East Movement) because I'm not sure what exactly we're being compared to in this song.
3. Airplanes (BOB) because I think airplanes in the night sky are NOT like shooting stars, or we'd have some flight safety issues.

Notice, this list is currently short but sweet because I rarely listen to the real radio anymore. I'm usually listening to Pandora on the Keane Radio station or listening to my iPod full of music from all genres.


So, this weeks blog is all about booty shakin'. I honestly never thought I'd actually write anything that really included the words booty shakin' but, I'm going with the flow on this one. 


What songs new and old make you shake it a little as you're hanging about in your house, heading out for a run, or just driving alone in your car?  I'd love to add some to my personal playlist for my training and enjoyment. Comments are appreciated.  

***Please note, I'm aware that Summertime is by DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince, but I really didn't feel like screwing up my lovely number formatting up top with details. *** Plus he's Will Smith now  ya'll and I have no idea what happened to Jazzy Jeff.  He clearly isn't as rich as Will Smith nor are his children whipping their hair, in public at least.

January Blues

I'm not quite sure just what it is about January that I dislike. It's the first month of the year, it's my birth month, it's all new beginnings and fresh start, blah, blah, blah. All of my life, it's always been that one month that puts me in a funk. Things always happen during this month that are not fun. For example, when in fifth grade, we had this thing called pink slips. If you did something bad, you had to fill out a pink slip and stay in for recess. You'd think during January in Wisconsin, this would be ideal. Not really, as the teacher who stayed in with you was fragrant, to put it nicely.  I always ended up with like three pink slips during my birthday week. I've been in a few car accidents during my birthday week too, nothing serious, just minor fender issues, like taking the mirrors off of my sedan on the house. Yes, the house.

I could go on about the untimely deaths of both of my grandparents right around my birthday and really spin us all into a giant poor me, sad funk, but I won't. 

So I revisit my initial statement, I'm not sure what it is about January. I always end up in a funk. I'm sure it has to do with the winter blahs, the dark, cold, and gray days. I guess I just am curious how I'd be if January was actually June. What if they switched places? Would I be a perkier, happier Jane? Or would the funk still haunt me?  Is it weather related? Is it Birthday related?  I'm not one of those crybabies about growing older. It happens, you can't stop it, so why bother?

Anyway, I need to treat myself well, so I'll stop this little diatribe on January.  I'm kind of looking forward to February, although Valentine's Day is in that month. Don't even get me started on Valentine's Day....

Smiles, Giggles, and a Snort or Two

I'm sitting here, blogging and craving M&Ms like a fiend. I don't know really what it is about M&Ms that has me loving them since Thanksgiving . The good thing is, I can eat a couple as I got my behind out of bed and ran this morning.

Therein lies today's blog, New Year's Resolutions. I don't make them, as I never keep them and then beat myself up about not keeping them. Being a mother, who works full time, plays soccer once a week, and tries to remain sane; it's quite difficult to even guess at a New Year's Resolution that I could keep. As I thought more and more about a resolution, I decided to shake things up and make a resolution this year, one I KNOW I can keep.

My resolution for 2011 is to be good to myself. It's generic, and the definition of that will change from week to week month to month. Overall, though, it'll be good things and I'll be a happy gal.  

I think in the rat race we call life, we lose sight of ourselves. We lose sight of what makes us happy, what music we really like, what we like on our pizza, how great a cup of coffee and a good talk with a friend really feels.  We stop noticing how much the smiles of our children make our hearts full, how handsome our husbands really are when they're playing with dolls on the floor with our kids, how our dogs really just love a good ear scratch and cuddle once in a while.  I feel like these are the things that put a true, big, toothy grin on my face which is then followed by a giggle and maybe even a snort or two.  

So for 2011, not only am I going to write for myself, I'm going to find myself again. I'm going to focus on what's real, and what's important and rise above the insanity of the everyday. I challenge all two of you who read this blog to do the same.  What makes you smile and snort?

The Rat Race

Vacation is over.

Tomorrow I go back to the place that pays our bills.  I am not thrilled about this at all, but I've resigned myself to the fact that it's a necessary evil for my family and I.  It's not so much the job that I dislike, it's more the people at the job that drive me nuts. The political games and backstabbing sickens me, only because not everyone can see through it all. Mind you, it's not only the company I work for, it's Corporate America in general. It's not the majority of people either, it's just a token few, but I feel like that I'm in an episode of the Office on a daily basis. The good thing about that is the daily fits of laughter that occur while in my cube hell.  This is normally done at, I mean, with other people.

That said, back to the Rat Race I suppose. I'm going to turn over a new leaf in 2011 and conserve my energy for the things that really matter. Conserve my energy for myself, family, and friends.  I always lived in an illusion that I wanted to run the show, and now I'm kind of in the place where I'm going to run a show, but not that one, if that makes an ounce of sense. 

It is what it is...and off I go....