And then. . .

1. Steps walked:  87,751 2. Visited cities: 2 3. Days I've been without my dogs and husband: 10 4. Words written: 7000 5. Times I missed spicy food: 5 6. Beers: 10 7. Books read: 1 8. Tours taken: 2 9. What's App Messages: 5064 10. Stared out the window wondering what to write: unknown

I am thankful for... 1.  My new dog Faustino who has warmed my heart towards pets again after saying goodbye to my beautiful Drew-b this year.  2. My husband who supports me through every crazy idea I have and won't mind that Faustino the dog came before him on this list.  3. My sister/mom who is/are a pain in the ass and likes to fight with but can't stay mad at me too long.  4. My uncle who texts me every morning to say good-morning even when he knows I'll be sleeping.  5. My lovely small  but close knit group of friends who don't let lapses in time and/or distance change our friendships.  6. My job. I worked very hard. It showed me that patience and my stubbornness paid off. I have felt a little lost this semester because I got so used to having a bone to chew on, but I will learn to have a new goal.  7. I'm thankful for goals.  8. My time off that I will use to brush the cobwebs off my writing brain....

I like lists. I make them to have the satisfaction of crossing things off once I've completed the task. The lists range from simple tasks like "go to grocery store" to "finish story". I write things down, I have an app called Color Note, which has fallen by the wayside for good old paper and pen, and I have specialized lists for things like the grocery store. Lists make my life complete, at least I think. For the past month, on my list there has been "post on blog" and each time I think, "I'll do it right now." In this case a list has not helped me. The sad part about it is, that I've missed my posts. I miss my inner Carrie Bradshaw voice talking and mussing about things. So the questions is, why haven't I made time? 1. I had family in from Colombia for three weeks. 2. I took a vacation to Phoenix. 3. I got new wonderful job I'm elated to have. 4. I've been trying to work on my chapbook a (tiny) moment in time and r...

Last week, I visited a class to speak about some of my writing, the process, and The Danger of a Single Story . I was asked many wonderful questions about my work and also about books I've read that kept in line with the idea of standing up for oneself. The normal thing that always happens when I'm asked this question is my mind goes blank. All the titles of wonderful books I've read disappear as quickly as my dog, Sami, eats her meals. So, below I've put together a list of books I think are important. I will probably stray from the topic, (I apologize in advance, Rich)  but I will give it my best. Brave New World  by Aldous Huxley  I can't remember how old I was when I read this book, but I was definitely in my 20's, (I think) and I was blown away, by not just the writing, but the idea. For a length of time in my life, I was obsessed with Utopian society books. Huxley seemed to capture something not as dark as Orwell's   1984   or Rand's...

This week I'm on spring break. I had many plans. I wanted to work on my book. I wanted to spring clean the house. I wanted to tackle the garage. I wanted to post and sell more things on Craig's List. I wanted, I wanted, I wanted. So, far I've checked my email, emptied my DVR, and slept. This week has been good though, hermit-ish, but good. There's something odd that happens when you allow yourself to just be. I let my brain stop dictating what I was going to do and let my body chose to sit on the couch, to take a nap, to go back to the couch. Usually, I have lists constantly running through my head. Imagine a computer updating, white texts filling up a black screen,  that is my brain adding more tasks to the queue. But, the last few days my brain has frozen and the cursor is just blinking waiting for me to hit enter, to restart. The best part is that this is very rare for me. I think it is very rare for everyone, but I recommend it. Especially at this time of year...

1. Set a schedule 2. Stick to it 3. Read lots of books. The trashy kind you haven't had time for because of school 4. Work out. Beat him in the P90X challenge 5. Take long baths and stay in until your fingers look like pink little prunes and you think you might drop your book 6. Wake up at 9am everyday, even when you don't have to 7. Write, but only things that don't have anything to do with the memoir you've been staring at for the last year 8. Go see bands, even if they might be bad. El Paso is full of free summer concerts to go to, sit on prickly crab grass and enjoy the cooler evenings 9. See your friends, the ones who have stood by the sidelines cheering as you wrote and wrote for the last few months, the ones who checked on you, gave you the love you needed to finish, even if from a distance 10. Celebrate being married, finishing your thesis, and being at a giant crossroads marked Future 11.  Purge things: all the things that clutter and get in your way,...