Rambling Friday: A Time to Be Quiet

We live in troublesome times. Few people would deny that. Work, diseases, living issues, family, friends, expectations and more increase the pressure on our lives. I'd love to offer some tips that may help:

1.  Exercise. It doesn't matter how old you are or young, exercise (if you're physically able with
doctor's permission) you can do some type of exercise. Stretch, move, walk, raise your arms, march in step. Take a walk, jog, ramble through a park or on a beach or in the woods. Whatever you choose will get your blood pumping and your mind more alert. Just remember to get your doctor's permission.

2.  Take your vitamins regularly. They add the essential nourishment that your body may lack. Think about it, and again, Check with your doctor if you have questions.

Eat right. Enjoy your vegetable, watch what you eat and how often.

Doing good for your body will be doing good for your overall health and mental state.









3. Take time to do things you love.  Have a hobby? Make sure you spend time on those. Puzzles? Needlepoint? Ancestry research? Traveling? Sports? Whatever you love doing, do it. It will be well worth your brain time!

4.  Spend time with family and/or friends. Read a book together. Play games. Go exploring. Listen. Laugh. Relax. Don't argue. Don't bring up touchy subjects. Realize you only have one life, and that is meant to do and be the best you can be. Use it wisely.






5.  And last, try some of these ideas:  light a candle, soak in a tub of warm water, swim, listen to music, take a boat ride, have lunch with a new or old friend or a relative you haven't seen in a long time. Try journaling, scrapbooking, carving, painting, praying, reading your Bible, talking with a minister. Get a pet, volunteer at a nursing home or hospital or lunch center for the homeless. There are plenty more things anyone can do to help ease the pressure of everyday life.

Stay determined. Stay focused. Resist negativism. Stay positive. Take action. YOU are the one responsible for yourself. Do it!

Prayers for a happy, healthy and productive rest-of-your-life!

Serious Wednesday: Confusing English

Think About THIS!

UP.  This two-letter word in English has more meanings than any other two-letter word, and that word is 'UP.' It is listed in the dictionary as an adverb, preposition, adjective, noun, or verb.

It's easy to understand UP, meaning toward the sky or at the top of the list, but when we awaken in the morning, why do we wake UP?

At a meeting, why does a topic come UP? Why do we speak UP, and why are the officers UP for election and why is it UP to the secretary to write UP a report? We call UP our friends, brighten UP a room, polish UP the silver, warm UP the leftovers and clean UP the kitchen. We lock UP the house and fix UP the old car.

At other times this little word has real special meaning. People stir UP trouble, line UP for tickets, work UP an appetite, and think UP excuses. 

To be dressed is one thing but to be dressed UP is special.

And this UP is confusing: A drain must be opened UP because it is stopped UP.

We open UP a store in the morning but we close it UP at night. 
We seem to be pretty mixed UP about UP!
 

To be knowledgeable about the proper uses of UP, look UP the word UP in the dictionary In a desk-sized dictionary, it takes UP almost 1/4 of the page and can add UP to about thirty definitions.

If you are UP to it, you might try building UP a list of the many ways UP is used. 

It will take UP a lot of your time, but if you don't give UP, you may wind UP with a hundred or more. 

When it threatens to rain, we say it is clouding UP. When the sun comes out we say it is clearing UP. When it rains, it soaks UP the earth. When it does not rain for a while, things dry UP.

One could go on & on, but I'll wrap it UP, for now. My time is UP! 


One more thing: What is the first thing you do in the morning & the last thing you do at night? 

U...P! (Get it?)


Quote:  We write to taste life twice; in the moment and in retrospect. --anais nin

Blessings!

Sunday Morning Peace: thoughtfulness

Think on These Things

You may be disappointed if you fail,

but you are doomed if you don't try.

--Beverly Sills

You don't stop laughing because you grow old.

You grow old because you stop laughing.

--Michael Pritchard

Don't compromise yourself.

You are all you've got.

--Betty Ford

Don't waste today regretting yesterday

instead of making a memory for tomorrow.

--Laura Palmer

Many wonderful blessings!

Think About This Word: UP!

Think About THIS!

UP.  This two-letter word in English has more meanings than any other two-letter word, and that word is 'UP.' It is listed in the dictionary as an adverb, preposition, adjective, noun, or verb.

It's easy to understand UP, meaning toward the sky or at the top of the list, but when we awaken in the morning, why do we wake UP?

At a meeting, why does a topic come UP? Why do we speak UP, and why are the officers UP for election and why is it UP to the secretary to write UP a report? We call UP our friends, brighten UP a room, polish UP the silver, warm UP the leftovers and clean UP the kitchen. We lock UP the house and fix UP the old car.

At other times this little word has real special meaning. People stir UP trouble, line UP for tickets, work UP an appetite, and think UP excuses. 

To be dressed is one thing but to be dressed UP is special.

And this UP is confusing: A drain must be opened UP because it is stopped UP.

We open UP a store in the morning but we close it UP at night. 
We seem to be pretty mixed UP about UP ! 

To be knowledgeable about the proper uses of UP, look UP the word UP in the dictionary.. In a desk-sized dictionary, it takes UP almost 1/4 of the page and can add UP to about thirty definitions.

If you are UP to it, you might try building UP a list of the many ways UP is used. 

It will take UP a lot of your time, but if you don't give UP, you may wind UP with a hundred or more. 

When it threatens to rain, we say it is clouding UP. When the sun comes out we say it is clearing UP. When it rains, it soaks UP the earth. When it does not rain for awhile, things dry UP.

One could go on & on, but I'll wrap it UP, for now. My time is UP! 


One more thing: What is the first thing you do in the morning & the last thing you do at night? 

U...P ! (Get it?)


Quote:  We write to taste life twice; in the moment and in retrospect. --anais nin

Blessings!

Character Names

I mentioned in a previous post about character names and choosing them. This is one of the fun-est things to do with writing--on my part. Some writers have trouble doing this. Some have trouble with novel titles. Most times I enjoy choosing both.

Today, let's write about character names.

Here's a few ways I have of choosing:

• From the get-go, sometimes a character already has a name, for a variety of reasons including from the first I received the inspiration to write the idea, the character's name was part of it all.
• Sometimes I'll choose a name because I like it, it's one of my favorites, or its a name of a friend that I want to honor.
• There are times I turn to my trusty baby name book and search through it. Right now, I'm searching for a protagonist name (male) for a thriller/suspense novel. It's in the plotting stage and will need a lot of research, so I've plenty of time to come up with the appropriate name. I've begun the list to choose from though.
• If all else fails I have two tried and true methods to come up with a name:

(1) hold a blog contest. Used this method for the "bad guys" in my cozy mystery and had several entries. Ann won a gift certificate for coming up with a couples' names that perfectly fit them.

Or (2) ask my special critique partners who do a good job of coming up with names. Jam, for example, didn't like the name of the second romance I wrote, so I told them to brainstorm. She came up with a wonderful romancy type of name.

Hard? Not usually. Finding the perfect name for a character is a piece of cake--normally. And fun.

Quote:
A hunch is creativity trying to tell you something. --Anonymous


Blessings