Inspirational Quote of the Week

“Before everything else, getting ready is the secret of success.”

~Henry Ford~

We love Henry Ford. Without him, let’s face it, there would be no road trips. We’re happy he got ready and made things happen.

Drive thru breakfast at BigDonald’s.

I believe in being ready. When food falls on the floor, I am always ready to get it. FloorFood is my favorite flavor. On a good day, if I’m in position, I will catch it in the air before it lands. *sigh*

I am ready for Santa to come and bring me some surprises.

I am pretty sure I’m not on the Naughty List this year, although some people might see it differently.

When it comes to her writing work, Mom should be on her own Naughty List. Just saying.

She claims to be ready for Christmas though, and the new year – maybe a resolution about writing. And she’s ready for StoryStorm which is an idea challenge that she does every January. 30 new story ideas in 31 days.

We both have a good feeling about Christmas and an even better feeling about 2022. I mean, look at all those 2’s. Two is Mom’s lucky number. I’m pretty sure it’s also my lucky number, because I don’t even know what numbers are. But I’m ready to learn…

Learning…

Inspirational Quote of the Week

“Writing gives us someplace to go when we have to stay where we are.”

~Mason Cooley~

Mom and I have stayed home a lot in the past year. It has been a good thing in some ways and a bad thing in other ways – for both of us.

On the upside, staying home means I got to nap a lot

and watch TV with Mom

and nap a lot. (Yup. I said it twice.)

On the downside, staying home means she did a bunch of homeschooling,

practice,

and brain work with me, so I didn’t turn into a piece of furniture or a potato.

On the upside, staying home means Mom (should have) had plenty of time to write stories and read picture books. (Nope. I didn’t say either one twice.)

On the downside, staying home means actual experiences, people-watching, eavesdropping on kids’ conversations, and observing the world was a no-go.

 

Also, bookstores and libraries gave Mom the virus-germ-heebie-jeebies.

So reading picture books is basically non-existent, and writing is at a minimum around here. Happily, Mom has an idea list, that she started in StoryStorm and continues as always. She has a few half-finished stories waiting for her attention and a few finished pieces waiting for revision. She also has nothing but time. So here’s hoping Mom gets more than 15 minutes of writing done each day. She keeps telling herself that writers write, so she needs to take her own advice. Or at the very least, paws crossed that she doesn’t turn into a piece of furniture or a potato.  

Potato Dog – Don’t let this happen to you!

 

Inspirational Quote of the Week

“You can, you should, and if you’re brave enough to start, you will.” 

~Stephen King~

Mom has started a list. It’s for a challenge that she does every January. The StoryStorm challenge is to write down 30 story ideas in 31 days. Then use those ideas to make stories all year.

Today is the 18th day of the month. Mom is on idea #24. We have a good feeling about finishing. Finishing the challenge is a good start to writing stories. See what I did there? Finishing. Starting. Yeah. That.

I am a great finisher. I always finish the kibbles, and treats in my IQ toys. The Tornado

 

and the Hide ‘n Slide.

I always finish the squishy snacks on my Licki-Mat.

I am finished trying to learn Fetch. What is that stupid game about, anyway?

I fetched it. Now it’s mine. What?

I am finished eating my toys. Mom said if she has to throw one more toy in the trash, she’s throwing me in there with it. #rude

So I’m pretty sure Mom can finish one simple list. Then she will start choosing, changing, mixing, nixing, writing, and revising stuff from the list to make stories. I will help by licking her shoes, staring at her,

begging for food,

PB&J? Yes, please. Please?

napping,

and…. did I say staring at her…? Yeah. That.

Inspirational Quote of the Week

Last week was Abe Lincoln’s birthday. He was a pretty smart guy and has many inspiring quotes on his resume. I like this one because preparing for your Big Chance is an important part of getting your Big Chance and taking your Big Chance and appreciating your Big Chance. And making the best of your Big Chance.

Big Chance – Book 1.

While Mom waits for her Big Chance – Book2, she prepares. Her two recent writing challenges helped her prepare with webinars, daily posts, and Facebook entries. They stressed getting ideas, listening and thinking like a writer, and putting her butt in the chair.

Following the writing rules to create a story is important – catchy opening, problem/conflict/goal to be reached, attempts at solving/alleviating/reaching it, increasing tension, success, and a surprise ending with a twist. Breaking the writing rules happens once in a while, too – word count issues, the rule of 3 becoming the rule of 5, extra characters popping up, and not enough conflict. Breaking rules can be cool sometimes.

Rules are for chumps.

But other times, it’s just not OK. Hopefully, when Mom’s chance comes, she will be following the rules or breaking them in a good way.

I smell candy.

I have been preparing for my big chance for many years. I have eaten cigar butts from the gutter,

gotten my head stuck in a take-out bag,

 

and a grocery bag,

and a Macy’s bag,

tasted the floor,

licked cakes during photo shoots,

and once I even swallowed one of Mom’s pills.

All this in preparation for the day I finally get big enough to eat from the garbage pail. #growlegsgrow When my chance comes, I. Will. Be. Ready.

So close…

 

 

 

Inspirational Quote of the Week

Happy New-ish Year! 2020 feels like it’s going to be a great year for all of us. So far, it’s been pretty good for me – lots of treats,

a bunch of car rides,

some naps and cuddles,

and a few walks at the park in the cold.

So far, it’s been pretty good for Mom – leftover Christmas gingerbread men,

gift card shopping trips, a few walks at the park in the cold,

and a new writing challenge called Storystorm.

Storystorm lasts only a month. All Mom has to do is get 30 new story ideas during January and boom – the challenge is met. Simple, right?

 

Not always. She’s 3 ideas behind already, but she is hoping to catch up soon.

Mom is trying something new this January for Storystorm. Usually, she reads the Storystorm daily post and types her ideas into her phone. This year she is writing them with a pencil like in the olden days.

She is also drawing a picture for each idea. AND she is using that as an excuse in her head for falling behind. #pathetic

I am not allowed to make excuses. That is fine with me. I embrace ALL of the things I do,

and I act like they’re right whether they’re right or not.

Five Word Friday

 

Today’s 5 words are from a story Mom is writing for the January 12×12 Challenge. The story isn’t finished, yet, but each day it gets closer to the end. In the 12×12 Challenge, she will be writing a story a month for the whole year!

16. Ladybug – I have never tasted a ladybug. But once, I ate a butterfly. It didn’t taste as good as it looked, but I ate it anyway. One day when Mom and I were hiking, a butterfly landed on my back. I didn’t eat that one, but he looked delicious.

42. Sidewalk – Our sidewalks are covered with rock salt. It was put there to fight off the 18 snowflakes that fell the other day.

Mom is threatening to put my boots on to protect my delicate, little feet. So far, she hasn’t done it. She’s settling for scrubbing them clean as soon as I come back inside.

Totally unnecessary!

9. Tiny – Sometimes, Mom writes tiny 100- or 200-word stories for magazines. Lately, none of them has been picked up, but they are still fun to write. One really tiny one was rejected yesterday, in fact, so things are going along as usual.

Sometimes, I am very tiny…

87. Flying – Mom is flying through her Storystorm Challenge this month. She has to make a list of 30 picture book ideas in 31 days. And guess what – she already HAS 30 ideas! All the rest of the days and ideas are just gravy. (Mmmmm… gravy…) Each day, she reads a blog post and it helps her get an idea. Or two. Or six.

33. Legs – Mom keeps her writing-legs in shape by practicing. She reads, writes, revises, edits, submits, and critiques. Her writing-legs stay strong, so when Book #2 comes along she will be ready to run with it. I keep my doggie-legs strong by running, sliding, climbing, begging, and jumping a lot.

Mom worries that my fat little meatloaf body will get too big for my skinny, stick legs. She weighs me every week to check for fatness.

23.5 – Not bad…

Sometimes, I am put on treat restriction.

24! Blerg!

Snow pea? Seriously??

 

 

 

Inspirational Quote of the Week

“You know what the issue is with this world? Everyone wants a magical solution to their problems, and everyone refuses to believe in magic!”

~Alice in Wonderland~

No, Alice. Some people and puppers DO believe in magic. There are many magical things at my house. Mom believes that magical things will help her reach her goals. Since I have no goals, I go along to get along and humor her.

The Daruma Doll brings optimism, good fortune, and strong determination. Daruma dolls are sold without the eyeballs painted in. People paint in one eye when they set out to do something and paint in the other one when they have achieved the goal. As you can see, our poor, little Daruma dude still only has one eye…

Heart shaped rocks…and 4-leaf clovers are a couple of the things Mom is always watching for on our walks.

This guy brings faith, magical power, and spiritual strength.

And of course the dream catcher filters out the bad dreams and lets the good dreams fly through. The dream feathers carry the dreams home.

So, Mom has big plans for all her lucky, magical things to take her to the elusive Book #2 in 2019. Well, that and some hard work, new twists, and a couple of online challenges and support groups. Paws crossed that something works.

Mom’s magic and mine are slightly different. I think the most magical thing in the whole house is the treat drawer! Bags and bags of treats.

All I have to do is be a good girl and ba-bam. I get a treat from the drawer! Yum. Magic!

Oh – and the car keys hanging on the doorknob are pretty magical, too…

Road trip!

Inspirational Quote of the Week

 

More…. I LOVE more. It’s my favorite thing.

More treats.

More sweaters.

More walks at the park.

More toys.

More naps.

More playing. More. More. More.

Mom loves more, too. More ideas.

More time.

More writing.

More submitting.

More acceptances. More. More. More.

She’s thinking about doing more learning with 2 challenges in January. If she joins 12×12 and does Storystorm, she will end up with 30 more ideas and 12 more first drafts.

That’s a lot of …more.

Inspirational Quote of the Week

Mom and I are connected. Wherever she is, that’s where I am. Our connection is strong. Sometimes she leaves me behind and goes out without me. In that case, I am just sad and waiting for her to come back to me. …But I still feel connected.

Mom has been working with some of her new story ideas. She is trying to get some of them to connect to each other. Putting a random character into a random setting is always fun, so Mom does that a lot. Walking them into a problem and then getting them to struggle their way to a creative solution is also fun, but more difficult.

I have been stuck in some situations now and then, myself. Sometimes, I can get myself out, but sometimes, I straight-up need help.

Strange doggie staring at me. Stay strong.

Opening the treat drawer – Wait for Mom to help.

Hat falling off…

Run!

Stuck under the bed…

Settle in for the long haul.

Lost a shoe – cross your paws that it’s never found…

FYI – It’s ALWAYS found…

Caught in the soccer net – “MOM!”

Joining

I am not much of a joiner. I do join up with some of my therapy dog friends at the veteran’s home and the library. But we don’t play much. Apparently, that’s not what we’re there for…

This is what I’m there for…

I got some new toys and a new coat from Santa. They have now joined up with my old toys

and my old coats and sweaters.

And sometimes, I join Mom for dinner. That never ends the way I imagine it will.

Wait. What?

Mom is more of a joiner than I am. Now that it’s a new year, she has joined StoryStorm,

The 12 Days of Christmas for Writers,

and Rate Your Story.

That means she will get 30 story ideas in 30 days, will watch videos every day for 12 days to be inspired and learn new things, and can send her stories to RYS for evaluation and critique.

She has also joined the GoodReads 2017 Reading Challenge, with plans to read 200 picture books this year.

Maybe I will join her while she reads. There might be snacks….

*sigh*