Chaos in the Clouds

I'm linking up with The Lightning and the Lightning Bug once again for this week's Flicker of Inspiration prompt #47: Beautiful to Me

"Our individual insights and perspectives determine how we see the world and what we consider to be beautiful. I think it's fair to say that everything is beautiful to someone. A manhole cover can be a thing of beauty to the man who designed it, if to no one else."

The clean, white clouds slowly swell with shades of gray. What was once a slight breeze now gains momentum as it reaches the treetops. The distant rumbles and flashes inch closer as I count the seconds between them. I stand out on my deck, neck craned, spinning in circles to wholly witness the evolution. Soon, gargantuan drops of fresh-scented rain are polka-dotting the landscape. I take as many pictures as I can before needing to step inside. I enjoy the rest of the beautiful show from behind the sliding glass door, screen open of course. 

I am a storm junkie.

There have been days where I have watched The Weather Channel for hours on end as if it were The Godfather saga. In awe of the massive number of severe storms sprawling across the map. Jealous, at times, of the cities that are in "the red" and awaiting their potentially destructive disturbance. While tornadoes have wiped entire cities off the map I cannot help but be completely enthralled by them. My very first viewing of The Wizard of Oz at four years old is likely to blame for my lifelong fascination with storms. There is just something so captivating about a sky alive with natural, unstoppable force. 

The beauty that I find in a storm is immeasurable. Almost indescribable. My focus is unwavering as I gaze at the changing scenery. The white clouds mature into a palette of purples and grays. They move in waves, almost tsunami-like. Walls of wonder passing from town to town. I take countless pictures second after second and each image is so different. I feel a sense of cheerlessness as they move on.

A clear, blue sky is lovely but one filled with chaos is just beautiful. 

A Paper Chatterbox

 I am linking up with The Lightning and the Lightning Bug for the

Flicker of Inspiration Prompt #46: The Way We Were

"Tell us about you. Write an old photograph in text form, where we can say,

"Oh! Gosh, it hardly looks like the person I know, and yet still so recognizable!" 

Tell us about the you that was and, in many ways, still is."

That's me. Little Sheri. Little Casual Sheri, circa 1980. Hands in the pockets of a favorite pair of jeans. Or maybe it was Mom's favorite pair of jeans for me. Hair playfully pulled back into what could be called horse-tails rather than pig or ponytails given the thickness of it. A big grin that was no doubt due to a special lunch of Ramen noodles and "red" Kool Aid followed by some Sesame Street on the television. It was the little things that made me happy. 

It still is. 

I am still very much this little girl. In my everyday jeans, with my notoriously thick hair and a playful spirit. Still finding it hard to take most things seriously. Still smiling when I have my favorite meal, though the menu has changed quite a bit. And still making you listen.

Little Sheri was a beloved and creative chatterbox. I say beloved in a semi-sarcastic tone. I am quite sure I annoyed more than a few souls with my endless tales including greats like, "Baby Beth Took the Chocolate Chip Cookie." I was always making up stories. My mind was a colorful dreamland of characters and scenarios. I was probably three or four years old in this picture, right around the time that I introduced my family to my imaginary friends, Noonie and Bernantha. Noonie lived behind the television and refused to put a coat on when he went out to get his mail from the mailbox. Bernantha had very long hair (probably due to my fascination with Crystal Gayle at the time) and that's all I remember about her. I didn't sit and have pretend tea with these characters - I was too busy creating a world for them to exist in. I loved my world. I loved rainbows and music and story time at the library. I lived without fear and I loved my home.

I remain a storyteller, though most of my material has changed. I'm no longer tugging at the hem of your shirt, bending your ear with tall tales about dolls until you ask me to kindly go take my nap. Instead, I pour my overflowing nonsense into my blog or facebook statuses or tweets. I may not be speaking about Noonie's afternoon stroll but most likely writing about some mundane trip to WalMart or why I intend to clothesline my neighbor's prick son. To keep my silly "Little Sheri" side fresh and satisfied I write children's books. Sure, they  haven't been published yet but it doesn't stop me from sending them out over and over again. I am a mental chatterbox to the core. Rhymes and sentences pop into my head and I just have to write them down until I know where they're supposed to go. And I always find a home for them. I only wish I could have written down the stories I harbored when I was three.

Thirty two years may have passed but I'm still Little Casual Sheri. Still a bit rough around the edges. Still a spitfire. Still a lover of rainbows and music and the home that I've now created for myself. A chatterbox on paper, making her presence known. Forever in blue jeans - whether the world likes it or not.

Short and Sweet

I'm linking up with The Lightning and the Lightning Bug this week for their

Flicker of Inspiration prompt #45: Short and Sweet

Please feel free to join and link up your own post!

I've chosen to write three haiku for this prompt...

Sweet, shameless Sara

How your words poison your mouth

True tales are too short

Short are your fingers

fumbling the black and white

The sound remains sweet

Sweet eyes by the moon

your lashes play their part well

Our time is so short

 

music & mango

 

This post is based on The Lightning and the Lightning Bug 

Flicker of Inspiration Prompt #43: Listen

Your prompt this week was simple: Start your linkup post with the word "Listen."

"Listen to our Lights playlist today, Sweetie?"

Scarlett gives me a look that assures me she has no idea what I'm asking of her. She flips her bib over her face and patiently awaits her mango.

Every day during each of Scarlett's meals I choose a playlist from my iPod for our listening pleasure. I have been doing this since she first started eating solid foods. It started out as me wanting to play children's songs for her but that quickly took a turn when I realized how effing annoying they are. So now it's Mama's choice. Some days we have the upbeat 80's featuring pros like Cyndi Lauper, Madonna and Whitney Houston. Other days I like a nostalgic feel with my Richmond mix which is made up of songs that remind me of the first six years of my life. (Richmond being the town I lived in). A few other playlists include, Lights, Favorites, Treadmill, Fire, (that's for backyard get-togethers, not life-threatening situations), Oldies, 20's & 30's, etc. There is always something to fit my mood.

I'm a huge music bug and I can already tell that Scarlett is too. When I was pregnant with her I'd play the same song on the ride home after every good doctor's appointment. That song was "Float On" by Modest Mouse. When Scarlett was just a few weeks old and refused to settle down we learned that we could play that song to  instantly soothe her. I guess there is some truth to that whole "babies can hear while in the womb" mumbo jumbo, huh?

I grew up with all sorts of music and always enjoyed a wide variety. My parents both loved the music of the 50's, 60's and 70's so I got the best of all genres. I can't say there's a decade that I don't like.

What's your favorite decade or genre of music?

Did you grow up with a music-loving family? 

The Nap-Gestapo

Okay baby, you have a fifteen minute window to poop startiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiing (clicks stopwatch) NOW - Go!

Too rigid? Perhaps, but exactly how carefree can I be without unraveling like a cheap-ass sweater you'd find at the local drug store? I'm the type of person that thrives on organized regimens and control. I demand that my baby girl's ass explodes before I put her in the Christening dress, I admit it. If the clipboard says 'it's time for peas and a bottle' you'd better believe that my girl will be green-snouted and pot-bellied within the half hour.

So, is that such a BAD thing? Having a finely tuned schedule that works for everyone? I don't think it is. It did take about five months to really get it all down. Until that point it was a grab bag of semi-controlled chaos at best. I realize that babies do their own thing. I know they follow their own natural paths. I get it. But is it so wrong to want to help them along and maybe benefit from it in my own sneaky way? Nah.

It's not like I can't go with the flow to a certain extent. I mean, I don't believe that Scarlett is going to eat, crap and nap at the same exact times every day. I don't naively think that her routines won't change a thousand and forty eight more times before she is two. I've heard that as moms we are supposed to surrender all control and just let things go as they will. That's just not gonna fly with me.

Everything works well for us on a daily basis but occasionally we run into a few snags. Like, for instance, if we are invited out at night. BEFORE, when Scarlett wasn't going to bed until 11pm it wasn't an issue. But NOW that she has her last bottle at 7:30pm and is in bed by 8 o'clock - I don't want to mess with that. I like to be home by 7 o'clock with the baby in her cozy sleeper, wound down, soothed and ready for slumber. If we stay out later than that she's all out of sorts. Overtired and over-stimulated. It has taken up to two weeks to get her back on track in the past. It's simply not worth it.

So for now, I continue to carry my clipboard and click my stopwatch. I am running the show - with Scarlett as my co-host. A bit of role-reversal? Yeah, maybe... but I like it this way. And she does too. Her beautiful, consistent smile is all the proof I need.

I wrote this post based on The Lightning and the Lightning Bug's 

Flicker of Inspiration Prompt #42: Killer First Line.

 

spare time goal

Inspired by The Lightning and the Lightning Bug's prompt I have decided to let you in on a little secret. Well, it's not a true secret because I have told a few people. It's about what I am committed to these days. And no, it isn't my beautiful family - that's just a given. I will never be anything BUT committed to them. However, I have the determination bug again and this time it's a cute one.

I am working on a new children's book. For those of you that don't know, I have previously written a children's book that is yet to be published. (I am also committed to getting that published one of these days). The thought came to me while I was reading to Scarlett one afternoon. Ya know when something basically bludgeons you in the face with the force of a cast iron frying pan? That's how this idea made itself known. It was so simple and so obvious for me and I am one thousand percent committed to it. It does require a lot of effort, a lot of dedication and a lot of constant brainpower. I have all of those things available to me and I am forcing myself to use them beyond their limits. The first book I basically wrote in one afternoon. This one could take me a year. And that's fine; I am not giving myself a deadline. Deadlines seem to make everything feel like a rushed chore. This is my spare time goal, for fun and for a sense of accomplishment.

I am putting this out there because it helps me to focus. I have the drive and I have the creativity. I guess I could just use a little more free time. Even though I remain unemployed my free time is divided up between baby care, errands, showers, laundry, cleaning and meal prep. So how will I realize this dream? When Scarlett takes her 'used to be daily but is now more like once-a-week' marathon nap I race to the computer to tap out some progress. Otherwise I can write out a few quick blurbs while feeding her a bottle and watching Seinfeld reruns. I sneak a few lines on scrap paper as they come to me whether in my car or whilst writing out the grocery list. I keep a notebook close by at all times to record any lines that are not to be forgotten. And, as always, I pluck inspiration from everyday life.

I intend to report back to you in a few months with news of my major progress or by chance a celebration post upon completion of this project. Reading Dr. Seuss to my daughter is always going to take precedence over working on my book but I'll make it happen. Wish me luck! And I wish YOU luck in whatever you are working toward!