If the first words you say on the first of the month are “Rabbit Rabbit,” you’re supposed to have good luck all month long. And if you should happen to forget before you say your first words and end up mumbling something like “coffeeeeeee” or “one more snoooooooooze” instead, you’ve still got a shot. You can reverse the words and make the last thing you say before you fall asleep “tibbar tibbar” and score some good luck points as you drift into dreamland.

That’s my plan for the month. Rabbit Rabbit, a bit of luck, and all my dreams will come true. Because I’ve got big plans for November, just like I’ve got big plans every month…and clearly, I’m going to need a little luck to get this business taken care of.

So Rabbit Rabbit Rabbit Rabbit Rabbit Rabbit Rabbit Rabbit.

What are my big plans for November? Well, we should start with the list I couldn’t manage to complete in October, shouldn’t we?

Lose 5 pounds
Paint something (I know I said my Bob Ross costume counts, but let’s be real. It doesn’t.)
Finish 100 Years of Solitude
Write 750 words every day (CREATIVE writing. SEPARATE from this blog. As a part of #NaNoWriMo, to be specific. Along with my friends Jo, Addie, Jamie, Blake, and Stutz. This is happening!)

In addition, I’m planning to

Train for and run the Turkey Trot 5k…in under 35 minutes
Audition for a musical at our local community theatre
Create and stick to an editorial calendar for this blog (Oh yes. Nitty gritty nerdy style. It had to be done.)

What do you think? Are you taking part in #NaNoWriMo this month? Did you make a list of goals that you’re going to need a little luck making good on? And did you SEE that Starbucks brought out the big guns, and by big guns I mean red cups and peppermint mochas?

I can feel it in my bones. November is going to be a great month.

Original Article

On my computer monitor at work, there sticks a yellow Post-It note. It is held to the plastic with clear tape, because it has started to lose its stickiness. Written on it are two sentences. Two little sentences and a name. Six words total.

Six words that remind me every day to do what I love, to live the life I want for myself, to make it happen.

Stay hungry.
Stay foolish.

Steve Jobs 

When the day seems too long or I think I’m too tired or I start to feel like I can’t sit under the fluorescent lights for another second, I look at this sticky note and I feel better. I feel like I can do it. Like something great is just around the corner, and if I can just hold on, I’ll make it happen for myself.

I am so sad to hear about Steve Jobs. It is overwhelming to think of all that he managed to achieve in his short life - all the thoughts, the revolutionary ideas, the changes and innovations he brought on…

I don’t need to write about how he changed my life, how I write and listen to music and create and watch movies and basically spend my entire day looking at the screen of a device he is responsible for. What I will say is that tonight, I am more inspired than ever to stay hungry and stay foolish.

We can create remarkable things in our short time. We can be inspired by the giants who have gone before us, and we can make the most of these incredible machines by creating incredible things on them.

We can achieve greatness.

I often say that we live in the future - and we do! Look at how far we have come since the car phones in bags, the floppy discs, the VCRs and laser discs, the Walkmans and boom boxes. Steve Jobs was pivotal in getting us here, and I am thankful.

Life is short. Today’s loss was another reminder to make the most of the time, the brains, the creativity we’ve been given.

Stay hungry.
Stay foolish.

Original Article

I’m sitting with Josh in our favorite coffee shop, and I can’t help but listen in on every conversation going on around me. I’m a Nosey Nancy and have been forever. It’s a fact…and a trait that comes in handy when you’re a writer who can’t seem to start writing.

When I was in college, I wrote constantly. I took a lot of pride in filling notebook after notebook with stories, conversations, comics, and ramblings. I would sit in the coffee shop for hours, writing on graph paper  until my hand cramped, my pen ran out of ink, or I was asked to buy something or leave.

I’ve always kept a journal, but I don’t think I really started writing until college. I took my first creative writing class freshman year, and one of our early assignments was to eavesdrop. Take someone else’s conversation and make it our story. So as I waited in the airport (one of my favorite places) waiting for a flight home to Indiana, I listened in on nearby conversations until I heard something I could build on.

That first story was pretty terrible - it was an assignment in writing Magical Realism, and my conversation spiraled into one of those terrible “you couldn’t have met Sandy, because she died five years ago ON THIS VERY NIGHT” stories…but it was a start. And I’ve been eavesdropping ever since.

As I approach this October with 750words.com, I’m trying to remember all the ways I used to find inspiration to write.

I have a few more inspirational tricks up my sleeve, but I would love to get your advice, too. Where do you turn for inspiration when you’re having trouble getting started?

Original Article

It’s pumpkin time! It’s pumpkin time!

Pumpkin season is a pretty big deal in our house. I happen to have married a serious pumpkin aficionado, and when autumn rolls around, we try to sneak pumpkin flavor into all the foods we love. So when I saw this recipe on himinthekitchen for sweet and salty pistachio pumpkin bread, I knew I had to make it this weekend.

It’s no secret that my husband does most of the cooking in this house. When I do head into the kitchen to make a mess, chances are it’s because I’m baking. This recipe was a little more complicated than the open-box-add-eggs batters I usually whip up, but I managed it just fine.

This pumpkin bread was a perfect mix of salty and sweet (and I’m sure it’s delicious with the honey butter included in the recipe, but we were too impatient to whip that together). It was nice to be a little more “hands on” in my baking this time, and I’m pretty sure Josh was impressed that I managed to make something so delicious on my own, no box mix necessary.

Click through to get the full recipe from himinthekitchen, and be sure to let me know what you think!

Original Article

But more wonderful than the lore of old men and the lore of books is the secret lore of ocean. 
H. P. Lovecraft

I know it was only weeks ago that I told you guys I was moving to Boston…but things have changed. My heart has a new song, and the chorus is “Southport.”

We spent Labor Day weekend in this beautiful, sleepy, historical town, and I pretty much fell in love. Josh isn’t sure he would like living on the water, but I’m sure enough for both of us. We spent Thursday night and Monday morning walking around the town (we even took a ghost tour), and with every historical house and spooky story I grew surer and surer…I belong in Southport.

All that’s left is to make my first million. Then, we’re going house hunting.

Original Article

I think I’m all the way recovered from my super-fun, slightly relaxing weekend.

On Friday, I said goodbye to a dear friend with silly masks and jargaritas.

On Saturday, I drove up the road to Boone for a little retail therapy, and I made a new friend along the way.

And on Sunday, we enjoyed some sunshine, some beer, and some peanuts at one of our favorite Asheville bars, The Wedge.

How was your weekend? Was the weather as beautiful where you are as it was here? Did you make the most of it?

Original Article