Author: JodiLea

I don't pretend to be who/what I'm not. I will be honest here unless I publish under the category "This could be news," which is 99% fiction and a wee bit sarcastic. ;-) I want readers who come here to have as much fun as I do. Not all subjects can be fun, but most can be funny if I do my job right ;-) My inner child is reflected in my logo and will change at a moment's notice.

Songs Touching My Soul

~ JodiLea

Writing 101: Day Three – Commit to a writing practice
Today, celebrate three songs that are significant to you. For your twist, write for fifteen minutes without stopping — and build a writing habit.

Someone Saved my Life Tonight – Elton John
This song immediately takes me back to my cousin’s basement in Missouri where the summer nights were muggy and I spent too much time, while my BFF was working or on dates, being lovelorn and brooding. Well, I was a teenager back then, so melancholy was my middle name. I wanted someone to save me – from myself. I was lonely and incomplete, more than not, those days. Where was Tom Cruise when I needed him?

Breathe (2am) Anna Nalick
Her lyrics, “in my diary out loud” reminds me of blogging. We put ourselves out there, for better or worse. Our readers will take what they want from it, if anything. And we can’t go back to fix things, we must move forward or be stuck. Her chorus with “Just Breathe…” helps me to unwind and let go of my ‘baggage’. Live in the present. How much of live have I already missed because I wasn’t living in the present?

When I’m Back on My Feet Again – Michael Bolton
This song, from the first time I heard it, to today, makes me cry. I don’t know what Michael Bolton meant when he sang it, but to me the song portrays a person fighting addiction and wanting to live life happily instead of being under a burden of guilt and shame.

“Feel the sweet light of heaven, shinning down on me” speaks of no longer having to hide in the darkness, covering up lies and secrets. “Some sweet day, some sweet day, I will feel it” is the hope and determination to win this fight, and wrestle his soul back from addictions grip.

And that day, my friend, is sweet indeed 🙂

I’d love to hear what YOU, dear reader, feel when you hear these songs!

 

 

Peace, With A View

~ JodiLea ~ 5 Comments

Writing 101: Day Two
If you had the power to get somewhere — anywhere — where would you go – right now?

NavarreBeachOh, Navarre…

I want to be with your calm and warm water, lazily lapping the whitest of sand. The mornings I spent laying prostrate on an air mattress, admiring an ocean smooth as glass, were blissful. The sun, kissing my skin with its gentle warmth, no hint of its ravaging heat, that sets fire to the sand, in mid-day.

In early morning, the sea blends with the air in temperature, and I feel like I’m floating on nothing. My anxiety and burdens leave me.  I want to stay like this forever, one with nature. Only feeling. Not thinking. (I think way too much.) I wanted this wonderful peace  to come home with me. But it could not.

When I think of Navarre, it’s always “Oh, Navarre…”, spoken in a nostalgic, yearning way, bordering on the dramatic. It’s name reminds me of Nirvana. Not the band, but the word’s definition: “Nirvana is a place or state of being in peace or complete happiness.”

And that is exactly how Navarre was for me.

J

Unlocking My Mind

~ JodiLea

Writing 101: Day One
To get started, let’s loosen up. Let’s unlock the mind. Today, take twenty minutes to free write. And don’t think about what you’ll write. Just write.

Dear Reader, please do not feel obligated to read the drivel below…

OMG! We are already living dangerously and it’s only Day 1! My mind is like Pandora’s Box. There are some pretty scary things in there. Believe me. Do. Not.Go.There!
Free writing is something I used to do to figure out a decision, dilemma, or just vent and bitch. I would show no one and now I’m thinking about publishing this?

I have not been able to work on my book – too many other obligations/commitments.  I’m so damned busy for a retired person, I can’t believe it!  I have to admit that most of my obligations and ‘chores’ are self-imposed. I volunteer too much I think, but I love being in charge of stuff. NOT in charge of people though. Forget them. I have enough trouble keeping charge of myself.

Don’t even get me started on politics! Tomorrow we vote on California State issues and offices, like Governor. A lot of candidates for that, plus a write-in space. I want to write in that space -“anybody except the current governor.”  That is how I want to vote…  Basically we are only guessing – taking the candidates word for who they are and how they will better our lives…

I have been voting since 1976 and I cannot believe there are grown adults out there who do not. Don’t you care about this country? Your county? Your community?  It’s not only a duty, but a privilege. Oh boy! What a clique that is, huh? I think people hear it so often that it doesn’t register anymore.

I believe that one vote counts. If the 49% of our citizens would go and vote – think of the power those votes would have. Don’t buy into that “one vote won’t mean anything” attitude! All those one votes add up to form an opinion. We are more influential than we think.

If you don’t know the candidates – find out about them! Ask around, read news articles about them. Take the propaganda (junk mail promoting candidates and/or demoting opposition) with a few grains of salt.  Go with your gut. Vote the way you feel will make your life better. It isn’t difficult to do. There are no more ‘hanging chads’ to deal with – Ha!

Wow – I got on a soap box for awhile there. It’s a gorgeous day and I should be out walking but here I sit in front of my computer, free-writing until Siri tells me 20-minutes are up. But, that is what I’m trying to do – unlock my mind. Just writing without too much thinking about what I’m writing about, what chores I need to get done today, blah, blah, blah.

I miss my girls. It’s been a few weeks since I’ve hugged them, played with them, napped with them, watched chick flicks with my daughter after our hubbies go to bed. Waking up the next morning, after 4-hours of sleep, grumpy and tired. We do it every time and we know better. It’s our thing, so we will keep doing it.

I am fighting the urge to goof off. I can’t seem to focus on any one thing too long and that includes writing, blogging, research. I’m an undisciplined fool lately. I have piles of things to take care of in my office, the kitchen, the living-room, and the guest rooms. My sewing machine sits on the dinning room table, untouched for nearly a week.

Oh, Okay time to stop. …

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Well I learned something doing this. I whined, reminisced and lectured. YAWN… I feel a nap coming on  😉