J. H. Authors

One Woman. Three Names. Many Books.

Musings

The Year of Fabulous

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At the end of August I turned 50. I have a wonderful life, am blessed, and very grateful. But, 50 gives a girl pause.

And so, pause I did.

And I decided to use the pause to refocus my blog. Every week I am going to blog about something fabulous I did, or experienced. I am going to celebrate my fabulous life, mindfully.

I am taking this step for a few reasons. First, I want to work on this blog, but since I write for work, and for Sisters in Crime, and for NHWN, I needed to find something new.

Second, I got three “fabulous” gifts for my birthday.
One from my cousin, a book called “Fifty and Fabulous”. Two from my sister, a pink sash that read “Another Year of Fabulous”. And three, a stunning cake from another friend, also pink, that looked like a wrapped gift. The “tag” said “Another Year of Fabulous”. And so I took the hint.

Third, as someone else said, the days are long but the months fly by. A weekly meditation on how my life is fabulous can only be a good thing. My friend Ruth has been writing a blog for 830 days and counting called “All That Can Happen in a Thousand Days”. Her journey has been huge. And reading about it has been inspiring, to say the least. We had a long conversation about how much she has changed over the course of this journey. Logging my journey on this blog will be a reminder of the blessings of my life.

I have two weeks of fabulousness to catch up on, and then I will be back on track with Sunday posts.

Thanks for reading.

 

City Girl by the Lake

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Some random thoughts after my vacation by the lake.

I love lakes.

Swimming is fun. But after you see a 2 foot snapping turtle, it is less fun.

Dark is really dark. It is never dark in the city.

Wifi on vacation is a mixed blessing. But I think it is easier with than without it, especially for me.

Downside of Kindles–you can’t float and read. At least not without worrying about ruining the Kindle.

Upside of Kindles–you never run out of something to read.

Life is good.

Goals

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I have been bad about getting in shape this year. So I just signed up for the Tufts 10K. And am thinking about doing the Spartan Race in Fenway this November. Will these goals work? Not sure. But I do know that tangible goals make it easier for me to get a game plan going.  Do you find that? Grant deadlines mean work gets done by that date. On line fundraising? Videos get made, blog posts get written. Company coming over? House gets cleaned.

So here are two fall events to work towards. Let’s see how this goes…

The Artist’s Way–A New Approach

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A week ago I would have told you I had read The Artist’s Way. And I would have believed myself. I have a book copy, and a Kindle copy. I do morning pages on occasion. But when a friend was telling me about his process through the book, he told he that he was reading it all the way through before he started the week by week progression. “I like to know what my process is going to be before I jump into these things.” A ha.

I have never made it past chapter 3 of this book. This is very typical of me–I try to do the work, and then read/do the next chapter the next week. And I usually fall off the wagon. This is true of self help, of athletic pursuits (unless I am signed up for a race) and other self help pursuits. The “good girl” goes by the rules.

So here’s what I’ve learned this week. Screw the rules. Read the whole book. Make it your own. Not sketching my childhood bedroom won’t make me less of an artist. Be more holistic.

And here’ the second thing I’ve learned. Audiobooks rock. The book is 3 hours long. It will take me all week if I only listen on my commute to and from work. But what a great way to use that commute? Of course I’ll need to go back to the book book or the Kindle book to take notes and get the lesson plans. BUT I am getting the whole thing delivered to me as I walk. How cool is that?

So screw the rules, figure out an easy way to do it, and do it.

Morning pages, here I come.

“Hey” Hate

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I hate emails that start with “Hey Julie” as a salutation. My disdain is amplified if I don’t know the person sending the email. And I don’t use the word hate lightly. It sets my teeth on edge. I stop reading, sometimes for a while.

I realize emails are odd territory. “Dear” sounds stuffy. “Hello” or “Hi” work some of the time. Using the name alone can be dismissive or curt. But all of these are preferable to “Hey”. Aloud, as a greeting, “hey” works. Especially in certain circumstances. But in writing? Not for this girl.

Does this make me a fuddy duddy? Yes, probably. I’ll own that. But, after all, we were all taught that “hey is for horses”. And the “hey” meme that is going around? Also crazy making. With two exceptions. One is the Ryan Gosling Arts Management Tumblr. It makes me laugh. And then there’s this “Hey Girl”.

Don’t let these examples fool you though. “Hey Girl” emails are not welcome.

Am I alone in the “hey” hate camp?

Now This is Storytelling

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A friend shared this on Facebook. I love it. As a book lover, it resonates.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Adzywe9xeIU&feature=share