Join me as I try to get the fire going over at Write With Pictures

Thanks to all your encouragement, I am getting these rusty writing muscles moving.

Come on over and jump into the writing game with me for a few moments over at Write With Pictures.  Bloggers are writers who throw it all out there in writing.  There's a word waiting to inspire a touch of creativity in you.

Let's have a writing party this Sunday over at my long lost blog, Write With Pictures.  After soccer, I'll add my 2 cents worth of creativity over there too.

Hope to see you there.  Let me know what you think of this Sunday writing idea.  Better go put those soccer cleats on my son.  He's going to track mud all over the living room unless I lovingly tackle him now.  See you later!

L is for Loquacious

Making the beds can wait because it's another day of the A to Z challenge. The month is moving along quickly with this fun meme.

So back to L is for Loquacious...(I wonder if there is anyone else doing that word for L.)

With a scrunched up face, my 8 year old son put down his juice cup and said, "Is that an English word?" I love to throw out new vocabulary words at my boys to shake them up and hopefully get them thinking. If we had a formal vocabulary lesson, their minds would probably drift off to the no thinking zone of "what's for dinner?" or "what video game should I play?"

By the way, my son asked if it was an English word because I'm trying to give them a little French once in a while too. They never know what their "loquacious" mama is talking about. I keep them on their toes. After knowing me for 23 years, my husband has perfected the art of fully tuning me out. Gratefully, I still can get my boys to turn to me and say, "What? What did you say Mom?"

Well, after I explained to my son that loquacious means talkative, my son laughed and said, "That is the word for you Mom!" I bet he'll remember that word and its definition just from our little exchange. Funny that this shy girl from the Bronx could be considered loquacious. Look how motherhood loosened these vocal chords!

Also, BIG NEWS over at WRITE WITH PICTURES!!!

The wonderfully talented Gail from Louisiana Belle has graciously allowed me to post a beautifully inspiring photograph for all you haiku writers out there. And by the way, you all can be a haiku writer. It's a lovely poetry form, a few words with a punch of imagery and/or emotion. Please take a moment to drop by Write with Pictures and share your creativity and say hello to Gail :) Thanks!

Two Things on My Mind: Your Heart and the Rolling Stones

I'm minutes away from going to pick up son #2, but I wanted to share 2 links with you.

First of all, I signed up for Go Red for Women to promote awareness of the threat of heart disease. It is a very comprehensive site with good information and motivational strategies to keep us all healthy and informed.

My second link is for today's writing prompt over at Write With Pictures. I want to get things shaking over at Write With Pictures. It's like a ghost town over there lately. Maybe it will be fun to start posting all kinds of photographs to get us writing and hopefully, rocking!

So keep that heart healthy and shake your moneymaker (I can't believe I just said that!) over to Write With Pictures to get creatively inspired by those bad boys of rock and roll.

Getting those car keys now. I wonder if I have time to check what I look like in the mirror. Fixing me up will take too much work. Oh well, it's another mom who knows all about moms on the go and they are who they are.

Fridays Flash Fiction

Victor-Gabriel Gilbert - "Gardening"

Here is my 55 word Friday Flash Fiction inspired by this lovely painting:

Gingerly, she retreated to her blossoms when his bellows crowded out the self she kept close. With delicate attention, Daphne cradled each petal and dreamed of those calm moments soothing the infant that would soon grace their lives. Daphne ached for motherhood to strengthen her resolve to quiet the storms building in their young marriage.

Thank you for reading! It's a great Friday because I have another wonderfully talented photographer joining me for Fridays Poetry at Write With Pictures. Please stop by to see the amazing photographs shared by Margaret over at Art Happens 365 (photography & poetry) and my writing blog, Write With Pictures.

Hope to visit you all today! The kids are home due to another snow day :) Help!!!

Holding Down the Fort at Write With Pictures (I'm Lonely Over There :)

I began blogging in order to join in the conversation. Quickly, I also discovered that blogging can be another way to explore my creativity. Since I'm always on the go around here, I'm happy to even have only 5 minutes of creative "me" time. It's kind of like writing karaoke for me. Get up on that blogging stage and make something. After a bit of writing, I feel good knowing that I pushed myself a little to stretch my often creaky creative muscles. Right after that stretch, I usually have to clean up some kind of kid mess or break up a brawl with my boys. Sometimes, I'm writing a poem while saying something like, "Stop that! Do you want to send your brother to the hospital?" But for those few blissful or not so blissful moments of writing, I feel more complete.

Visually and intellectually, I think that photographs or paintings can be excellent starting points for a story or reflection or poetry. Well, this big lead in is really an invitation to come and visit my other blog, Write With Pictures. Several months ago, I joined 3 lovely bloggers as an administrator for WWP. Each day, a photograph is posted to inspire the writer in each of us. At the end of the week, the "winning" contribution is posted with a link to the winner's profile. Throughout my time with WWP, I've been impressed with the interesting and original writing voices that are stirred by a particular photograph. Often, there is also an engaging dialogue started between the contributors.

Now I'm officially the lone woman standing over at Write With Pictures. WWP is kind of my blog baby and I'm not ready to leave it because contributions have been light lately. If you have a moment, please drop by and share your thoughts or stories about the photograph of the day. I'll even take a hello or two when you knock on Write With Pictures' door. I'm there every day and would love to see you!

Keep tuned for my vlog debut in January. I think I need to work on some kind of material. Hmmm, maybe karaoke for real? Scary thought.

Write With Pictures Needs You!

Guess where I'm hanging out these days? I'm happy to be part of a wonderful team of bloggers over at Write With Pictures. Each day, a picture is posted that will hopefully stir a writer's imagination. We welcome all to take a few minutes to share their creativity as they are inspired by the picture. Even within just a few minutes of spontaneous creativity, you take a quick refuge from the pace of an ordinary day. It's also a great way to exercise those writing muscles. I'm always looking for that kind of "stretching"!

I invite you to come visit us over at Write With Pictures. When you visit, feel free to contribute your own writing, look through some terrific photography, or enjoy the writing inspired by each prompt. As you all know, the blogging world has such a diverse and talented group of "voices" that share so much creativity, perspective, humor, and insight. I bet you would like the cool picture that Dani picked for today's prompt. Today's featured photographer, Michelle, knows how to elevate even the ordinary to new heights with her photography. All of our contributing photographers have an amazing eye and individual ways of exploring the art within photography.

It's a young blog just starting to grow roots. We're hoping more followers are ready to join us on this daily journey of inspiration and creativity. I hope to see you there soon :)

Happy Tuesday!