Tag: Bloganuary

Bloganuary 2024 – Pen Name

Bloganuary writing prompt
Write about your first name: its meaning, significance, etymology, etc.
View all responses

I have mentioned before I write under a pseudonym here on Word Press.  I do that to protect my family and myself from some of the hard truths I occasionally write about.  I came up with the name about the time I was in seventh grade as that was when I started writing poetry and I did have a bit of a hope to publish.  And if Samuel Clemens could write under a nom de plume, couldn’t I?  There is a method to how I came up with the name, but I can’t explain it for obvious reasons.

I did a little searching though and did discover a few things in a google search of the name.  It seems to come from the name Leah and is of Hebrew origins meaning “meadow.”  And I learned that in 2021 only I in about 33,000 times was Leigha used as a girl’s name. Interesting little facts, but since it is not a common name, I didn’t find much else.

Photo by Angela Roma on Pexels.com

Bloganuary 2024 – Dream Job

Bloganuary writing prompt
What’s your dream job?
View all responses

When I was a kid, I went through several dream jobs… most of them I was rich and famous.  You couldn’t pay me enough to be famous these days.  There is no privacy in fame at all anymore.  So, forget the model, movie star and singer.  As a teen and young twentysomething, I leaned towards more behind the scenes – photographer and songwriter.  But now my reality is different.

I have health issues.  There really isn’t much I can do… certainly not a full-time job, and I doubt there is a one-hour job I could go to whenever I felt good.  Jobs just don’t work that way.  Sure, I can medicate to feel better but then I am asleep.  Basically, a job in itself is a dream to me.

If I were to choose, I would say something I can do at my pace.  Maybe a very small Etsy shop I stock when I feel well with homemade cards with crafts and photography.  I still wouldn’t mind a hit song… hell, I wouldn’t mind a song that is just recorded.  But the ultimate job would be a book of my poems or poems and pictures.  Just don’t make it a number one seller… I don’t want the fame, maybe just a spot on the library shelf.

Photo by Element5 Digital on Pexels.com

Bloganuary 2024 – A Leader

Bloganuary writing prompt
What makes a good leader?
View all responses

My mind in fibro fog is trying very hard to wrap around this.  All I can think of is back to the days of recess in grade school.  You wanted to play with the kids that were fair and not the ones that played favorites.  You wanted kids who listened to what everyone wanted to play not just force you to play his or her game.  You wanted someone who played a game we all knew, not someone to make up a game and bend the rules their way to win as it went along.  You wanted kids who were friendly and not bullies.

You know the more I think about it, maybe we should hold elections at the park and see who plays the fairest game of tag, jump rope, heck even house.  We were smarter then maybe?  Not so wrapped up in who’s in what party and what it looks like on our resumes which clubs we affiliate with.  Childhood was so much easier.  With the choices for leaders some years it could just be a game of “Engine, engine, number nine…” to decide the winner.  Kind of beats the electoral college and is easier to understand.

I don’t know if that makes sense to you or not, but maybe our childhood “rules” for people to play with at recess fit pretty well for picking a good leader… if they only would run.

Photo by ALINA MATVEYCHEVA on Pexels.com

Bloganuary 2024 – Nevermore in a Dream

Bloganuary writing prompt
If you could un-invent something, what would it be?
View all responses

I would like to un-invent war, but it is an action, not an invention.  I’d like to un-invent hate and discrimination, but it’s not an invention either.  How about basic violence?  Nope, not possible either.  So, I guess I would take a broad approach still and un-invent weapons.

I realize that fighting would still go on, but there would be no knives, guns or bombs.  It would be on a much more personal scale and no longer MASS casualties.  I am not so naive to think it would last though.  There are urges and feelings in many people for power and dominance that would naturally progress to a new series of weapons in no time.  I highly doubt we could ever maintain a peaceful existence for very long at all.

It never hurts to dream though.  I am tired of wars and mass shootings, too many innocent people are dying.  There is no place that is safe – grocery stores, movie theaters, schools, concerts, churches, night clubs, workplaces… everywhere.  So, if I could un-invent anything it would be weapons.  How about you?

Bloganuary 2024 – The Moment I Knew

Bloganuary writing prompt
Can you share a positive example of where you’ve felt loved?
View all responses

He looked at me

And time stood still

Moments of the past

Flew out the window

I forgot the hurt

I forgot the lies

I forgot the betrayal

His focus was absolute

And I felt special

Moments of doubt

Flew out the window

I had hope

I had encouragement

I had trust

He reached out

And fully embraced me

Moments of fear

Flew out the window

I knew I was safe

I knew I mattered

I knew I was loved

Bing Image Creator

Bloganuary 2024 – Overrun With Clutter

Bloganuary writing prompt
Where can you reduce clutter in your life?
View all responses

Here, there and everywhere.  I have four generations worth of stuff in this house.  Some of my daughter’s things, my things, my parent’s things and my grandparent’s things.  It is a lot to sort through.  What is important to keep in the family?  What will my daughter not want now, but love to have in the future?  What means something to me, but will have no value at all to those left behind when I am gone?  Those are just some of the questions I don’t really have answers to.

My daughter unfortunately didn’t really know her great grandparents, but some of that family heirloom things should stay in the family… or should it?  I know the documentation of my great grandparents are things I would not have been too keen on in my younger years, but now I see them as great pieces of family history, will anyone else treasure them though?  So many questions.

And recently I learned that I have a little more clutter I should get rid of.  Those things in my past that are cluttering my mind unnecessarily.  Old relationships I cling to because I once cared (no matter how much they hurt me) are a big clutter of mine.  But then again, they taught me what I don’t want.  I never thought about decluttering my mind though.  I have been working on my mental health for more than thirteen years and never thought of that as clutter until I read it in a blog here last year.

So, grab the broom, boxes and trash can.  I have a lot of clutter cleaning to do!

photo credit – Bing Image Creator

Bloganuary 2024 – Purrfectly Cute

Bloganuary writing prompt
What is your favorite animal?
View all responses

I tried to write a little about my cats and each time I start, it ends up in the trash.  Let me try this.  These are the things I love about my cats…

  • They are cute.
  • They know when I am down and will cuddle with me.
  • They greet me when I come home, like they missed me.
  • They have their playtime that gives me unlimited smiles.
  • They keep the mice population down.
  • Face it, they are cute.
  • They are independent enough I can take a day or two trip away.
  • They don’t beg at dinner time.
  • They are soft and warm in the winter like an extra blanket.
  • They CAN be trained in some things.
  • They talk to me when I am alone – had one cat I would have long talks with every morning, he would meow and wait and meow some more.
  • Did I mention, they are cute?

I could gush on, but those are the highlights.  I do like dogs too – but they take a lot of work.  Horses I have never had but they are BEAUTIFUL creatures.  …personally, I am partial to a unicorn but that is a challenging one to catch.  Ha, ha!

Bloganuary 2024 – Hello, Hi and Hey

Bloganuary writing prompt
In what ways do you communicate online?
View all responses
Photo by Andrea Piacquadio on Pexels.com

If you say hello

There is something

I want you to know.

I may just say hi

Cause missing you

Makes me cry.

Occasionally we chat

And we explain where

We are at.

But what I crave

Is a handwritten letter

In which you rave.

But now it is goodnight

As the sunshine

Is out of sight.

Then morning I will say hey

I hope you have

The most beautiful day.

**

Online there is Messenger, Facebook, and email

No matter what you use

Communication will never fail.

As long as the message is clear

I do this because

You are not here.

Is there something you want to say

Don’t wait any longer

Type it out today.

Bloganuary 2024 – On the Road

Bloganuary writing prompt
Think back on your most memorable road trip.
View all responses

I have had a few memorable trips in my lifetime both for good and bad reasons.  We never really took a vacation away but would go out of state every year to visit family in Nebraska.  I have been on short trips to concerts around the state and to both Missouri and Illinois.  Had a marvelous honeymoon in Nashville.  Been to Minnesota and the Mall of America a few times and walked the Riverwalk in San Antonio.  I had a great time in Detroit with my boyfriend and plan to return there again.  But the most memorable… let me see.

Had to be when I was 18 and I went to Nashville with my mom and sister.  I know I have written about it before but to make a long story short I got to see a lot of the sights and met a handful of county music stars and musicians.  It was the city celebration called Fan Fair and I was so overwhelmed by happiness everyday, it was great.  The thing that stands out the most is mom just about running smack dab into singer Johnny Lee getting off the elevator one day.

From souvenirs to pictures I still carry a lot of that trip with me.  And now the celebration has changed with the years, and I could never recreate that trip, so it holds a special place in my heart as do most of my vacations… there just hasn’t been a lot of them in my life.  Still, I have a few bucket list places I dream of, maybe one day they will be my most memorable.

Photo by John-Mark Smith on Pexels.com

Bloganuary 2024 – Snack Time

Bloganuary writing prompt
What snack would you eat right now?
View all responses

That is pretty easy… one of my biggest downfalls as far as snacks go is popcorn.  I go to a movie and devour half of the bucket even before the previews are over.  Something about that crisp and somewhat chewy snack drenched in buttery topping that is so addictive.  My hands and lips get greasy, and I always drop a kernel or two, but as wonderful as movie theater popcorn is there is one popcorn better.

photo credit – me

My dad used to take oil (most years just Crisco or Wesson oil from what I remember) and Jolly Time or later on some Orville Redenbacher’s white (not yellow) popcorn and pour it in a pan (there was a designated popcorn pan).  He put the lid on the pan and shook the pot.  I’d wait for the sound of the kernels starting to pop and he always knew just when to take the pan off the heat to maximize the pop but not cook them too long to scorch.  He would pour the popcorn into old empty gallon ice cream tubs, sprinkle on a little popcorn salt, put on a lid and shake it up. Then he would hand me the bucket.  It was so good!

I have tried many times to duplicate the recipe and it never does taste as good as what dad made.  And it would last too.  He would always pop up three or four tubs and we would snack on popcorn for about three or four days.  It would maybe be a little bit chewier at the end of that time, but still tasted great.  I just wish I knew how he did it.   I would give anything to have another bucket of his homemade batch.