My First Ceilidh

I've just returned from my first ever Ceilidh. The Irish music was seriously toe-tapping. Not a person in the place could be still while the band played.

After they did a fun dance for the kids, it was time for the adults to get up and dance. My friend Andrea hauled me out of my seat and onto the dance floor (she's strong!) and I am so glad she did. There was a line of about 50 people (perhaps even closer to 60) and we began in a circle, holding hands. (Great thing to do during an H1N1 pandemic.) The caller was the "head" and the person to her left was the "tail" and theirs was to be the only broken link. She then led the way, ducking under bridges of arms and held hands and the rest of us followed her. The cool thing, though, was that the tail headed off in the opposite direction. The result was a fun sight: a long line of people moving in a swirl-like pattern, however some lengths of dancers were going in one direction while others were going in another. It was spectacular!

That was just the warm-up. The next dance looked much more like square dancing. I, of course, bumbled around like a nimrod, as I haven't square danced since I was in grade 6! (I was pretty good at it back then, though.) Click here to see a short video I found on YouTube, if you just want to get a brief idea.

Now the one drawback to the evening is that my son, who had really been looking forward to the Ceilidh, as he knew it would feed his hunger for Irish music, was extremely tired, had a sore arm from the H1N1 shot and was beginning to feel less than wonderful by the time the music began. So after only a few songs, he asked to go home. I couldn't blame him.

However, the next time there's a Ceilidh in the neighbourhood (or region, for that matter), I will be there.

My Saturday Wake-up Call

I awoke to the sound of the phone ringing, which I answered, and then the sound a of giggling child rang in my ears.

Aidan: Hi Mom, it's me.
Sleepy mom: Hi Noodle.
A: [giggles] Dad thought it'd be funny to call and wake you up.
S.M: He did, did he? And why's that?
A: [more giggles] We just got our bracelets to go back later and get the H1N1 shot. So we wanted to tell you we're doing that at 9. Then Dad will bring me up around 10 or 10:30. [Uncontrollable laughter]
SM: And you just hat to call me at 7:00 to tell me this?
A: Yup!
SM: You owe me a treat.
A: No we don't.
SM: You woke me up at 7:00 on a Saturday morning. You owe me a treat.
A: Nope. I'll give you a kiss. That'll be your treat.
SM: Hm. Yeah, but you still owe me another treat.
A: [laughing madly now] Nope!
SM: Tell your father you guys owe me a treat. Now, go away.
A: [not remotely trying to quell his streams of laughter] Bye, Mom.

I'm so glad I could bring such joy to my child on a Saturday morning. It was a struggle, but I managed to sleep another hour and a quarter.

Welcome, Saturday!

(Great) Lessons Learned

I just stoked the wood stove with a couple of logs for the night. I set up the dishwasher and poured some food for the cats. Even gave them fresh water.

I'm in my PJs and before I head to bed for the night, I wanted to list a few things I've learned recently. I feel it's wise to have them written down for when I forget them. Perhaps this way I can avoid having to learn the lessons all over again, from scratch.

Some things I've learned recently:

• I don't need one huge block of time in order to write. I can write in bits and pieces, like in the basement of the Folklore Centre while Aidan is in his half-hour tin whistle lesson.
• I can recognize how awkward, terrible and ugly my writing can so easily be and not worry about it; just let it go and keep writing. (That's a big one for me!)
• When I put my mind to writing a couple of thousand words, I can do it. (And, again, I can let go of worrying about them being awful.)
• Some people in this world are just naturally cheerful (like a guy who worked at a gas station I was at this evening) and that's really inspiring to see.
• We humans are funny creatures--we are all so different and yet so much alike. (Don't ask...)
• I love my writing group!
• I'm not crazy about Starbucks' gingerbread latte. (Was grateful to have been offered a free taster at Starbucks, where the people are SO kind and friendly!)
• I have the most amazing, most wonderful, loving friends.
  
• I have to be the luckiest mom in the world.
  

Those last two aren't new...I've known them for awhile. Just never hurts to have fresh bursts of reminders!

Ok, enough learning for one day. Time for bed. It's my second late night this week. I do love late nights, except when they are followed by early mornings.

Half-way to the NaNoWriMo finish line

Today I reached the halfway mark in NaNoWriMo. In fact, I caught up on several days worth of writing. And I'm totally on schedule and at 28,500 words. Even slightly ahead. (Well not a whole lot ahead, but I'm proud enough of my achievement today that even a couple of hundred words ahead counts for something!)

In all honesty, though, my brain is done for the day. My legs need to be stretched. And my eyes need to sleep. So blogging probably isn't what I ought to be doing at this moment in time.

Nevertheless, I thought I'd duck in and announce to all 2 of you who read my blog (hahaha) that I hit a milestone today and I'm thrilled about it.

I'm really enjoying doing NaNoWriMo and although it's certainly not easy and I am both excited and unsure about the next 2 weeks, I can honestly say I'm already looking forward to NaNoWriMo 2010.

Shepherd's Pie is for Dinner

I spent the day at a Capital Crime Writers 20 year celebration. There was a workshop in the morning and panels & readings throughout the day. (Plus there was a free lunch! Woo Hoo!) It was definitely time well spent.

Because my car is *still* broken (sigh), I got dropped off at Ed's place so I could pick his car up *again* (sigh) because--did I mention--my car is *still* broken (SIGH). Then Aidan and I came home and got a fire roaring and dinner plopped into the oven. Yay for frozen home made shepherd's pie!

So after that, I caught up on a few emails and then poured myself a glass of wine. I then clicked open my NaNoWriMo novel and proceeded to:

- flip through the Giant Tiger flyer
- do the dishes
- pet the cat
- feed the dogs
- refill the dog food container with a new bag of dog food
- put my PJs on
- pour more wine (ahem)
- take a look at the book I bought today
- add MaryJane Maffini to my friends list on Facebook (a brilliant author at the conference today who is also my friend's mother)
- comment on a couple of friends' facebook statuses
- blog

So as you can see, I still have a ways to go in the DO NOT PROCRASTINATE department. And yet, I got some decent outlining done yesterday so I feel a scary sense of confidence that once I've turned the page on this particular leg of procrastination, I'll be able to find my place and get myself on a complete roll in order to get caught up on NaNoWriMo again.

In the mean time, at least I got caught up on blogging. And I also know that bacon's on sale until November 18th.

Having a bit of a hard time keeping up with NaNoWriMo. I'm not worried about it; I am able to get myself on a roll here and there. But it's making it difficult to keep up with blogging.

I will write more soon. Promise.

I totally stole this & take no credit for it - got it in an email and loved it!

The Charlie Schultz Philosophy
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The following is the philosophy of Charles Schultz, the creator of the 'Peanuts' comic strip.

You don't have to actually answer the questions. Just ponder on them.
Just read the e-mail straight through and you'll get the point.

1. Name the five wealthiest people in the world.
2. Name the last five Heisman trophy winners.
3. Name the last five winners of the Miss America pageant.
4 Name ten people who have won the Nobel or Pulitzer Prize.
5. Name the last half dozen Academy Award winners for best actor and actress.
6. Name the last decade's worth of World Series winners.


The point is, none of us remember the headliners of yesterday.
These are no second-rate achievers.
They are the best in their fields.
But the applause dies.
Awards tarnish.
Achievements are forgotten.
Accolades and certificates are buried with their owners.



Here's another quiz. See how you do on this one:

1. List a few teachers who aided your journey through school.
2. Name three friends who have helped you through a difficult time.
3. Name five people who have taught you something worthwhile.
4. Think of a few people who have made you feel appreciated and special!!
5. Think of five people you enjoy spending time with.


Easier?

The lesson:
The people who make a difference in your life are not the ones with the most credentials...
the most money...or the most awards.
They simply are the ones who care the most.


Pass this on to those people who have made a difference in your life.

'Don't worry about the world coming to an end today. It's already tomorrow in Australia!'