Lisa Nolan's Life Happens Then Write

T'was the night before Mother's Day

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa Nolan) — Sat, 11 May 2013 02:32:00 +0000

T'was the night before Mother's Day, when all through the house not a creature was stirring, not even a--oh, wait there is a child stirring, she wants water, again! (She spilled the first cup...)

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care in hopes that someone would fold them and put them away where they belong, they've been hanging there a week!

The children were nestled all snug in their beds, (except the child who just spilled her second cup of water!) while visions of sugar-free plums danced in their heads.

And Papa in his cap, and I in my 'kerchief, had just settled our brains for a long winter's... (What rhymes with 'kerchief?)

When out on the roof there arose such a clatter, I sprang from my bed to see what was the matter. (And tripped over a toy truck left on the floor--must I always put the toys away?)

Away to the window I flew like a flash, tore open the shutter, and threw up the sash. This sash is dirty! That reminds me, I have to do the laundry in the morning.

The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow gave the lustre of midday to objects below, when, what to my wondering eyes should appear, but a miniature sleigh and eight tiny reindeer.

What? A miniature sleigh and eight tiny reindeer? Am I seeing things--again? I MUST BE SLEEP DEPRIVED! I have GOT to get some rest!

"Happy Mother's Day to all, and to all a good night!"

by Lisa Nolan

{From the archives.}

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The Top 5 Parent Humor Pins on Pinterest Series 01

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa Nolan) — Sun, 05 May 2013 22:11:00 +0000

It's the Top 5 Parent Humor Pins Series 01! My Pinterest board, Parent Humor, has some awesomely funny pins! So I decided to pick the most popular! (But wait, first click on this link and follow the board! Now follow me here on Pinterest, thanks and applause!)

Alright, here we go!

#5 Pinned by Allison Hart Motherhood, WTF? Nursing baby in museum got 45 re pins!

#4 Pinned by Allison Hart Motherhood, WTF? Blue Smurf baby got 62 re pins!

#3 Pinned by Susan McLean-Author "Sometimes I think I'm an unwilling participant in a study on sleep deprivation - then I remember I'm just a Mother" got 77 re pins!

#2 Pinned by Allison Hart Motherhood, WTF? "I have decided I no longer want to be an adult..." got 86 re pins!

I'm sensing a pattern here, Allison Hart can pick some winners! Wow!

OK, she's a must follow on Pinterest!

Are you ready for number one! Drum roll please! "Ddddddddddddd!"

#1 Pinned by Allison Hart Motherhood, WTF? (What, again!?) "Hahahaha so true" got 169 re pins!

Which one is YOUR favorite? Leave your answer on my Facebook page!

The Ice Skater, The Knight, and The Grey Chair {Whimsical Wednesday}

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa Nolan) — Wed, 01 May 2013 04:06:00 +0000

Sketch by June Holmes

Once upon a time in an ice rink there sat a lonely grey chair. (OK, it used to be white but over years it turned some other color, let's just call it grey.) No one ever sat in the chair, not even the young figure skater who loved to eat onions.

One day the skater got a stomach ache (you guessed it, from eating too many onions). And because of that she sat in the lonely chair. It was so comfortable she fell asleep and dreamed about a big grey shark who was suffering from a terrible toothache.

Suddenly the skater was awakened by a hand shaking her shoulder. She looked up to see a knight in shining armor staring down at her. "Excuse me Miss, are you feeling alright?"

The young girl blinked her eyes."You're not a shark!"

"No. Miss, I'm an actor. I just finished rehearsing for a play and I came in here to do some skating. It calms me down."

She was fully awake now, and thanked the knight-in-shining-amour actor for almost coming to her rescue.

"Well, I'm glad nothing is the matter," he replied. He turned around, slowly (his armour was the heavy kind) and clomped away, the metal costume clanking as he took each step.

Feeling refreshed, the skater was ready to go back out on the ice, but the chair she had been napping in would not let her go. "Help!" she yelled. "I'm stuck!" The more she wriggled, the more the chair squished itself around her until finally the man in armour came stomping over and pulled her arms with all his might.

With the actor's help, she escaped the clutches of the chair. And ever since that day, she never sat in another chair again.
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(This was a group, free-writing exercise--with props, I did in a Kid Lit Salon a few years back. It's, um, let's see... it's whimsical!)

Will work for comments! Please comment on my Facebook page!
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I'm linking up to Whimsical Wednesday at Moms Who Write and Blog!

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Second-Chance Sunday Blog Hop

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa Nolan) — Sat, 27 Apr 2013 23:36:00 +0000

Second-Chance Sunday Blog Hop for good ole mom lit, chick lit, and parent humor!

Climbing Stairs

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa Nolan) — Sun, 21 Apr 2013 23:30:00 +0000

Photo by Lisa Nolan

It was a breezy Sunday morning as my husband and I took our son Jason to his favorite spot, the town square, slash wall fountain, slash goo on the bricks, slash paper napkins billowing all around, slash dogs off leashes, slash other tots totting around... to perform his favorite activity (besides grabbing goo and napkins and dogs and tots and water fountain puddles): climbing stairs--45 to be exact.

For nearly two years our son has crawled up and down those gum-stained, red-clay colored stairs like a darting lizard on a steep rock.

After Jason learned to walk at 19 months, he was determined to climb those stairs, up right, like mommy and daddy (no more crawling for him, well, almost): every weekend he'd stand at the bottom of those stairs, position himself next to the wall and under the railing (that he was too short to grab), reach out his hand for me or dad to hold on to, look up, put one shoe in front of the other shoe, and climb and crawl.

This breezy Sunday Jason stood in the middle of those stairs with no wall for support, and no railing, put one foot on the first step and the other foot on the second step, while I watched from behind and my husband watched from ten steps above--guarding gum spots and ice cream stained napkins, and my son proceeded to walk up those stairs all by himself. I yelled out to my husband, Look! He's doing it! He's walking up the stairs by himself! My husband smiled back at me as we watched Jason walk up a dozen of those stairs for the first time.

When parents hear their child's first words and see their child's first steps, it is a precious moment. (Our son did not take his first steps clear across a room until he was 19 months old, or say his first words until he was 21 months old because he was born with Down syndrome.)

Now when my son attempts to walk up and down the steps at our home, the mom in me holds out her hand for support, but he bats it away as if to say (and some day he will!) No, mom, I can do it myself! And I grin and glow because I know that he can!

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That was several years ago. My son is eight. And yes, he now says, clear as the bluest blue sky, "No, mommy, I can do it!"

And I know that he can.

{From the archives}

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Why My Dog Loves Walking Me in the Rain

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa Nolan) — Fri, 29 Mar 2013 04:06:00 +0000

Yes, it's true: my dog loves walking me in the rain. She's a Lab: Labs were trained to fetch fishing nets in the water in some place like New Zealand where it's very freaky cold. Freaky. Cold. So she's cool like that, in the rain.

Me, not so much. But I can't complain, well... maybe a little.

I find when I walk my coco-colored dog in wet weather, and after a good toweling off, she's bright and shiny and newish looking. That thrills me because I don't have to bring her to the groomers for another month or two (depending on when it rains again).

Even better, after a few strolls in the rain (she strolls, I half run to get home quick)... she stops scratching those pesky fleas! Bonus! No break-the-bank flea drops near her bum until, she, umm, starts scratching again (or I look at my calendar for when I'm supposed to put the drops in her fur but probably don't, after all, it might rain again).

EVEN BETTER! (Can it get any better? Yes!) I save $50 bucks! More if you count the flea drops!

Or maybe the rainy walks are just an excuse to procrastinate.

Who me? Procrastinate? Writers don't procrastinate!

They... take their time, to... get inspired, and, uh, wait for their muse to crack the whip (somebody has to).

Oh, look, it's starting to rain!

Awesome!

My Lab is tongue-hanging-out-of-the-mouth happy, and so am I!

{From the archives}

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How Not to Write Every Day

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa Nolan) — Wed, 06 Mar 2013 22:30:00 +0000

Photo by M Jost

Admit it, you've bought a book or two or three on writer's block, or the writer's life, or some other how-to writing book (I know I have). They all say the same thing: if you want to be a writer (and get published) you have to write every day. Yes, that's the secret to having a successful, or at least a fulfilling, writing career.

Now that I've got that rubbish out of the way, I'm here to tell you the six rules for how NOT to write every day. Isn't that what most of us writers do (or don't do)? In fact, wouldn't you be writing RIGHT NOW, instead of cruising the Internet and reading blogs about writing? That's rule number one by the way: turning on your computer each day and distracting yourself by reading blog posts.

Rule number two: Don't write unless you're in the mood (or go ahead and write but only when you feel like it). And how many writers are in the mood to write every day? And how many of THOSE writers actually write when they don't feel like it?! Not many (OK, maybe the ones who are published.)

Footnote: It took me two weeks before I finally left the house and drove to my local cafe to write THIS post for my blog, I left my house to do other things, of course. And I can honestly tell you I was not in the mood to write! But I was in the mood for a cafe mocha and a low-fat pumpkin spice muffin. And this brings me to the next rule....

Rule number three: Don't drink coffee or tea or coke or anything with caffeine in it. This will only give you a temporary jolt, a fleeting boost of energy that could be spent on writing (like the jolt-of-a-boost I got from the cafe mocha I drank and the pumpkin spice sugar muffin I ate before I wrote this blog post).

Rule number four: Create a Facebook fan page and a twitter account and update them regularly, this takes only a little effort. A tweet is only 140 characters and posting on your Facebook wall can be done in less than that. And when I say 'update regularly' I mean every day, of course.

Rule number five: If you are a writer who doesn't have an agent or a book published, yet, create a blog about yourself. This takes a little more effort, you definitely want to write more than 140 characters! But you don't have to create a post every day (unless you want to), one or two per week should suffice. And if you can keep that up for five months, your blog will show up in Google searches and people will then start to read your blog (people other than your friends and family members who say they read your posts, any way).

Rule number six: This is my favorite rule! Go on Amazon.com and buy more how-to books on writing. It's that simple! OK, it costs money (unlike blogging and Facebooking and Twittering, oh, and writing), but think of it as an investment in your writing career! And there are so many books to choose from, all written by published authors. Surely, if they can do it, so can you! Normally, this is when I suggest my favorite writing books... but there are just too many to list here and I've forgotten all the titles. I suppose I could go and look on my bookshelves, but maybe I'll save that for another blog post (What Writing Books NOT to Read).

Rule number seven, eight, nine, and ten: Don't even get me started on Pinterest! Except to say, keep on pinning! ("Keep on truckin'" is so yesterday.)

And you'll be back to read my next blog post! Won't you? Instead of writing?!

{From the archives}

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Face Your Writing Demons

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa Nolan) — Fri, 15 Feb 2013 05:34:00 +0000

Photo by M Jost

I'm naming my writing demons as if they were pets. (They are not pets, otherwise I'd call them My Writing Pets.)

I mean, if you are going to live with them in your head, you might as well call them something other than demons.

My first writing demon is called Procrastination.

Ms. Crash for short.

My second one is called I Never Have Time to Write.

Oh, wait, that's Ms. Crash, sorry Ms. Crash, you'll always be number one!

My third writing demon I have named I Have to Finish (fill in the blank) First.

Also called I Have Too Many Unfinished Projects Going On.

Ms. Fini for short.

The fourth writing demon is called Tomorrow.

Tomorrow for short. Also called I'll Start Writing Tomorrow After I Fini a Project Today.

Ms. Fini meet Tomorrow.

Yes, you can introduce your writing demons to each other. Might as well since they all live together in your head. Maybe they'll all hang out at a bar on a Friday night and give you some peace and quiet so you can, oh, I don't know, WRITE!

The fifth one... (How many does she have? You are asking out loud, for which I reply, How many do you have?)

Back to the fifth demon (actually the fifth writing demon is a group of domestic demons): My Son Comes First, My Dirty Dishes Need Washing, Who's Walking the Dog, Blogging, More Blogging, Eating, Sleeping, wait, those don't count, do they?

This fifth writing demon group is called Life.

Or Being a Mom.

Ms. Mommy Life for short.

So those are my top five excuses, I mean writing demons.

I'll think of a few more, after I do the dishes... and walk the dog!

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Life Was So Much Simpler When We Were Kids!

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa Nolan) — Sat, 02 Feb 2013 03:44:00 +0000

Me as a youngster in 1969.

My life as a child was simple. A slinky on the back stairs kept me entertained for 30 minutes, enough time for my mom to prepare cup-a-soup and white-bread toast for lunch with lime jello for dessert. Then it was off to the schoolyard to play with empty milk cartons by filling them with water from the leaky drinking fountain and chasing unsuspecting seagulls. Then I soaked my friends and they soaked me and nobody cared that we would 'catch our death of cold'. Now-a-days kids can't even get their sleeves wet!

On Saturdays I made myself a glass of Ovaltine and watched Saturday morning cartoons (offered on maybe two TV channels!) while my mom slept in. When she woke up she cooked oatmeal in a pot, the kind that stuck to your ribs, with plenty of milk and white sugar.

Believe it or not my mom was a health nut (I know, I know, how could THAT be?!). She gave me a chewable vitamin and a small glass of juice made from a can out of the freezer. There was no soy milk, gluten-free pancakes, or Greek yogurt in those days. Grocery shopping was a breeze, which was great because I did most of the shopping.

Then it was time for some housekeeping. She worked full time so I did all of the cleaning while she rested on the couch. She wasn't super woman. Super Woman was tall and buxom with long brunette hair and special powers (as seen on TV). And she wore a gold and red and blue costume that was one size too small.

If I wanted to listen to music I turned on the radio or played an album on my record player and In high school I kept a Walkman in my backpack, then snuck the headphones on while sitting in the back of French class because who needed to learn a second language any way. When I took pictures with a camera, I then placed the film in a black canister and stuffed it in a big, yellow and white envelope and waited ten days for my amateur-looking photos to return so I could proudly place them in a photo album with sticky-backed pages.

Dinner was easy. It came in a bucket or a Chinese-decorated carton, steaming hot with loads of sodium and fats and oils. Kids were not overweight (or very few): we were too busy playing with slinkies and dancing to record albums, cleaning house and pretending to be Super Woman, taking crappy pictures and chasing seagulls with milk cartons.

Ah, to be a kid again!

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Best Mom Lit of 2012

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa Nolan) — Thu, 24 Jan 2013 05:55:00 +0000

Get ready for some amazing mom lit! Have a box of tissues? You may need a few. These are my favorite mom lit blog posts in 2012. It was a heck of a roller coaster year. What did some moms do? Sob, get angry, laugh, be thankful, then write about it on their blogs!

OK! Here we go! Strap yourself in! (In no particular order.)

Source: wannabeyummymummie.wordpress.com via Lisa Nolan on Pinterest

{Wanna Be Yummy Mummie}: Will this mom run out of magic with her young son?

Source: alittlesomethingforme.com via Lisa Nolan on Pinterest

From the {A Little Something for Me} blog: "Our children's health"

Source: breaktheparentingmold.com via Lisa Nolan on Pinterest

"Making the tough decisions or Mr Rogers, Shooting Galleries, and Carousels" A little boy gets more time... to be a little boy. {Breaking the Parenting Mold blog}

Source: marinobambinos.com via Lisa Nolan on Pinterest

{Marino Bambinos}: "The Migraine"

Source: mudhutmama.com via Lisa Nolan on Pinterest

Cabbage Patch Kids and a Perfect Moment {Mud Hut Mama blog}

Source: jennifischer.blogspot.com via Lisa Nolan on Pinterest

The Good Long Road: What A Survivor Looks Like {Jenni Fischer blog}

Source: lenkaland.com via Lisa Nolan on Pinterest

How did YOU survive Halloween last year? Read how THIS MOM almost didn't make it! {The Lenkaland blog @Lenka Vodicka} Truly inspiring!

Source: pohlkottepress.com via Lisa Nolan on Pinterest

Read "Timeline" at the {Pohlkotte Press blog}: "I rocked to-and-fro in my chair virtually consoling the victims of poverty while questioning myself if in fact I had fallen victim to the poverty of spirit. What am I doing that is of help? My belly burned for more..."

Source: notappropriate4.blogspot.com via Lisa Nolan on Pinterest

From the {Not Appropriate For All Audiences} blog: A "Shatter Proof" Christmas

Source: jackstrawlane.com via Lisa Nolan on Pinterest

"Tattoos and Cancer go Together Like Clamato and Vodka" {Jack Straw Lane blog}

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That wraps up the best mom lit of 2012! Or does it!? Go here for a lot more at my Pinterest boards: {Momma Rants and Raves} {The Things Moms Say} {Mom-Lit, The Best Of}

I'm veeeerrrrry much looking forward to 2013! I know you are, too!

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Top 10 Must Haves for Moms in 2013! {Sunday Parenting Party}

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa Nolan) — Fri, 11 Jan 2013 03:51:00 +0000

Photo by M. Jost

Did 2012 leave you with a lot to be desired? Is your life as a mom still lacking some how? Besides being financially strapped, and chained to the social media beast (which just keeps growing and growing and growing), while the REST of your time is being spent as mom to little creatures roaming around your home, maybe some with fur or a mustache... I'm here to rescue you! Here are my top 10 must haves for moms in 2013.

Baby Rocker: (No, not a baby rocking out to the Rolling Stones, ha, ha, ha.) Your baby won't fall asleep on his own? How about someone invent a robot mom whose sole purpose it is to get the baby to sleep already.

An "I'm awake!" Mask: (For being up so late with the baby.) "Mom look! Look mom! Look! Mom! Look at me! Hey! See what I made?" (His 1000th circle using a red crayon, which is great, but why not watch and sleep at the same time?)

A Social Media Secretary: There are so many freaking time suckers on the Internet that moms need a mini me just to keep up with it all! Tax deductible, of course.

Self-Cleaning Mop: Needs no explanation.

Sound and Motion Sensored Treat Dispenser: Tired of hearing your kids pouting, whining, pleading, and stomping their feet (for whatever reason just fill in the blank)? The treat dispenser only hands out treats if your children sit quietly and don't move for ten minutes. May work with hyper dogs.

Trip to Hawaii... (All expenses paid just for blogging about it for a travel website.) Enough said.

A wig that does not look like a wig but makes you appear like you just got a $200 haircut but in reality you didn't have the time or energy to wash your dirty locks in four days.

Children's Sound-Proof Ear Muffs: Kids can wear them in the car so they can't hear you swear at the red-light runners or when you spill your $8 designer cup of coffee from Starbucks on your whole-in-the-knees faded (and a little too tight) blue jeans.

Instant Chocolate Cupcake Maker (36 to be exact): Battery operated so you can place it in the back of your mom vehicle so that by the time you get to school, or the pot luck, or your child's birthday pizza party, they are ready made and frosted, with sprinkles of course.

Interior Car Washing Machine: Let me repeat that. Interior. Car. Washing. Machine. Please. Oh pretty please.

Yes, I think just one of the above would make a mom's job a little easier in 2013! Goodness knows we've earned it!

A mom can dream, can't she! (Hey, dreaming is free!)

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I'm linking up with The Sunday Parenting Party!

Top Twelve Parent Humor of 2012: Warning! May cause you to pee from laughing so hard!

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa Nolan) — Sun, 06 Jan 2013 18:00:00 +0000

Photo of me and my mom in the 1960s

Are you ready for some serious funny! Got any depends you can borrow from grandma or grandpa? You may need them! These are my favorite parent humor blog posts in 2012. What a year! Huh! Big election, storms, hurricanes, and other tragedies that involved powerful weapons. What was a mom to do? Cry, get mad, cry some more, hug your kids REALLY TIGHT!

Then read some of the best parent humor on the Internet!

OK! Drum roll please!

But first a service announcement: comment on the blogs, and follow them on social media so you don't miss their posts in 2013!

(In no particular order.)

"Don't Fight The Carpool!" {The Mommy Padawan}

Source: themommypadawan.com via Lisa Nolan on Pinterest

Have you ever been on a 'roller coaster ride' with YOUR toddler? Read all about it at {Wanna be Yummy Mummie}

Source: wannabeyummymummie.wordpress.com via Lisa Nolan on Pinterest

15 Best Potty Training Tips You’re Ever Gonna Hear (for Dudes) at the {Parenting by Dummies} blog!

Source: parentingbydummies.com via Lisa Nolan on Pinterest

A Voting We Will Go {The Mom of the Year}

Source: themomoftheyear.net via Meredith on Pinterest

"Tales from Tinseltown": Parent humor comparing celeb motherhood to real-life motherhood...

Source: taoofpoop.blogspot.com via Lisa Nolan on Pinterest

{The Mouthy Housewives}: Let Me Start By Saying gives neighborly advice...

Source: letmestartbysayingblog.com via Lisa Nolan on Pinterest

{Mummyology}: Pre-wedding jitters? Or just keeping it real? "How to live with your husband for the rest of your life part one"...

Source: mummyology.co.uk via Lisa Nolan on Pinterest

"That’s NOT Mess!" {The Gina Valley blog: the glamorous life of the modern-day soccer mom}

Source: ginavalley.com via Lisa Nolan on Pinterest

"Out of the Mouths of Babes" from the {Stream of the Conscious} blog.

Source: streamdoubletrouble.com via Lisa Nolan on Pinterest

Real Life Wednesdays at {Picklebums.com}: “Is This a Swear Word?” (If you don't laugh your a** off after you read this you are made of stone!)

Source: picklebums.com via Lisa Nolan on Pinterest

Are Puffs the Xanax of Snacks? What do you feed your screaming tot!? {Urban Moo Cow}

Source: urbanmoocow.com via Lisa Nolan on Pinterest

{Mommy Shorts} "The Day Harlow was Born (Birth Story Part One— you know, the part where your toddler is screaming to turn on the TV while your husband is debating whether to get coffee...)"

Source: mommyshorts.com via Lisa Nolan on Pinterest

Are you still standing!? Ha! I'll let you catch your breath!

And that concludes the best parent humor of 2012! Or does it!? Go here for more, lots more:

On my Pinterest boards: {Parent Humor} {Momma Rants and Raves} {The Things Moms Say}

I'm soooo looking forward to 2013! How about you!

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Top 20 Humorous New Year's Resolutions for Moms {Sunday Parenting Party}

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa Nolan) — Sat, 29 Dec 2012 06:18:00 +0000

1. Don't sleep too much (during the day).
2. Don't play with your kids (until they brush their teeth, eat breakfast, and get dressed).
3. Drink too much (water).
4. Eat all the candy you want (but just pretend candy).
5. Wear fabulous clothes (that someone pays you to model).

6. Take long hikes (in cyberspace).
7. Create a g+ community. (You do know what that is, don't you?)
8. Adopt a puppy from a local shelter. (Yeah, that sounds about right.)
9. Bring your kids to Disneyland (in your dreams, I mean their dreams).
10. Make every Saturday night a date night (with your mom peeps on Facebook).
11. Make a to-do list (of things you DON'T have to do). Do that right now.
12. Turn the TV off and go read a book.
13. Don't even think about cruising Pinterest, unless of course you are looking for good books to read.
14. Don't spend money you don't have. (Don't spend money you do have, unless it's for a dream vacation to Disneyland, isn't there a Pinterest board for that?)
15. Hug a tree (but only if it hugs your first).
16. Have a pillow fight with your kids before they go to bed (after you all play with your new puppy).
17. Crown yourself Super Mom of the year! You just played with your kids, got them a puppy, took them to Disneyland, had a pillow fight, and hugged a tree back. (There must be a Pinterest board for that!)
18. Gather all your empty cardboard boxes, toilet paper rolls, paper bags, soon-to-be recycled newspapers and magazines and make a city with your kids and your new puppy in your living room. (And take a zillion pictures to post on the Internet.)
19. OK, you can hug a tree, regardless of whether it hugs your first. (What?)
20. Print out this list, but not before you pin it on Pinterest, share it on Facebook, posted it to g+, and tweet it on Twitter. (Seriously, what?)

HAVE A HAPPY AND SAFE NEW YEAR!

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Not enough New Year's cheer? Read these two great and oh-so-dang-funny blog posts from two of my favorite mom-lit bloggers:

Have you ever tried a recipe on Pinterest and it bombed? Read what happened to the Sisterhood of the Sensible Moms on New Year's Eve!

What were your favorite parent humor blogs of 2012? I know, it's hard to decide! Here is one of mine AND she did her own top 10! I cannot stop laughing... I have tears in my eyes! {HouseTalkN} "HouseTalkN's Top Posts of 2012".

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Inspired to act: #26Acts of kindness to honor those lost in Newtown, Conn.

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa Nolan) — Tue, 18 Dec 2012 05:41:00 +0000

Photo by Lisa Nolan

Join the 26 Acts of Kindness Blog Hop here!

Read the original NBC News article on #26Acts below.

Inspired to act: #26Acts of kindness to honor those lost in Newtown, Conn.

There's More to be Said: an Ode to Newtown

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa Nolan) — Mon, 17 Dec 2012 07:23:00 +0000

Photo by M. Jost

Sadness, darkness

Where's the light

So young and innocent

So unimaginable

Purple rays, redness, hurt

Loud noises, screams, I want my mommy

Brave teachers

Heroes are our first responders

Fathers and mothers grieve

Grey sidewalk, running fast, hiding, where is it safe

Only Heaven

Such tragedy, such loss

Words so hard to come by

Sirens

Flashing lights

Souls damaged

Mental illness

Too easy to get a gun

Can't arm everybody

Can't arm children

Love is the best weapon

Love is red

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I Will go to Bed Tonight with a Heavy Heart

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa Nolan) — Sat, 15 Dec 2012 05:15:00 +0000


Photo by Lisa Nolan

I will go to bed tonight with a heavy heart, and count my blessings. I will wake up tomorrow and not complain about it being too cold when I get out of bed, or the smell of a stinky cat box, or the dirty dishes piling up.

I will try not to watch too much news, and instead play soft music, then go for an extra long walk with my dog and son, and stop and look at all the Christmas decorations along the away, then smile, then cry, then smile again.

When I return home I will slow down a little more, look out at the shadow-grey trees, listen to the hungry birds in the backyard at the bird feeder, make gingerbread and pumpkin spice tea, read my pile of library books, then smile, then cry, them smile again.

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Can You Write Every Day and Still be a Super Mom?

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa Nolan) — Fri, 14 Dec 2012 07:12:00 +0000

Photo by M. Jost

What is it about writing every freaking day (or night) that is so hard for some of us? That if we skip a few nights, two months go by before we get serious about it again?

My problem is I have too many competing projects going on, always have been that way. Some I enjoy, some I don't. (Hint, household chores, homework time with my son, and G+.)

You'd think writing in a journal was easy enough. And it isn't hard for me. That is to say once I pick up my pen and paper I'm off to the races! And I get some great stuff (oops,I mean content).

And those times when I do get stuck, I use a simple yet affective strategy: free-writing lists of words (or word clouds). No problem.

I thought I could do it part time, say, three times a week. Nope. Four times. Nope. It has to be seven nights a week! Why is that? I don't have an answer. I just know that it's true.

So what to do? Accept it and get over it.

There will be weeks, months even, when I will happily and loyally write in my blogging journal, and weeks (hopefully not months) when I'll have every excuse not to!

Maybe I just can't do it all? I love to read at bedtime, don't want to give that up. I enjoy cooking dinner (it was the one thing in my childhood that my mom did not criticize me for). I need to walk my dog when my hubby comes home. Then there's working, and social media up the you-who!

So if I can't make time for my writing each and every day, so be it, as long as I enjoy it and am driven to do it and I'm passionate about it! That's what counts!

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Social Media Saturation {The Sunday Parenting Party, Real Life Wednesday}

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa Nolan) — Tue, 27 Nov 2012 12:07:00 +0000

Photo by Lisa Nolan.

Like most moms I love what's 'shiny and new', then over time, the 'object of my affection' becomes just another 'old hat'. Take Facebook for example. Now that EVERY mom blogger has a Facebook page for their blog, keeping up with all of them becomes a chore.

And new social sites are popping up all the time! Why am I led to believe that I must have a Twitter account, a Facebook page, a blog, and now Pinterest and it's ugly step-brother Google +. I'm no richer, no more popular, no more successful, why waste so much precious time when time is so precious: time with my kid, my family, my pets, and time with my off-line hobbies. (Sorry home-made winter hats.)

There was a period, before I was a parent, when all I needed was a street address and a phone that plugged into the wall. Then it was email, then a cell phone, then a Facebook account, and LinkedIn, and a smart phone, and a Twitter handle, a blog, a blog hop, and the dreaded G+ and the adored Pinterest account (don't let me forget Instragram).

And what happens if you feel like you 'don't fit in to the social media scene and you start having high school flashbacks (and not the good kind)? Do you keep trying to be popular? Do you keep banging your head against the wall only to crack it open?

For what? To put off finishing a book or a novel? To leave planting a garden for another day? And when it begins to feel tiresome, lonely, a waste of time, do you just stop? Then what? What replaces social media? Cable TV? Your DVR? I think you've guessed by now I'm starting to question the usefulness of it all, or the uselessness. We are all stretched so thin! It is impossible to stay afloat! I feel like I am peddling uphill. And in the end, what's it all for? Will it achieve my goal of writing a best-seller and having 100,000+ followers who will, of course, by my fabulous book? What to do? OMG when does it end! Did I mention it sucks the life right out of you?

Do you put a time limit on it? How much time? Phase out some if it? (Good riddance G+.) What would you phase out? What would you keep?

Or do you continue to do what you are passionate about, whether you are a mom or not, and regardless of whether you make money with your blog, write a best-seller, or increase your followers through the roof.

As for what keeps ME going, in spite of drowning in a sea of social media binges, is discovering new moms and their writing blogs, maintaining a connection with current ones, offering helpful tips and advice, and writing for my blog because I'm writing for ME. And I'm sharing ME with YOU. OK, a lot of you.

Now go away (but please come back) and plant a garden, write the next chapter for your book, have a tickle fest with your kids, heck, throw in a little yoga and some tea time. Then write, tweet, pin, post, and share the heck out of it!

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My Post Thanks Giving: For the Love of Farm {Mom Lit Holiday Hop}

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa Nolan) — Sun, 25 Nov 2012 05:34:00 +0000

Photo by Lisa Nolan.

My dad grew up on a farm in the Mid West during the depression. One of his not-so-favorite memories was trekking through deep snow in winter to get to the outhouse. I can just picture my dad as a young boy, tall and skinny, stomping down the snow-covered path in the middle of night wearing long johns, a robe, and snow boots, to pee in the outhouse; a farm boy with an artistic soul who was trapped in a speck-on-the-map of a town, population fifty.

My father came from a long line of farmers. He was the oldest of three, but when he turned 18 he had no interest in staying on at the farm, let alone being a farmer. After graduating from high school he moved to Chicago, went to art school, and became a street artist, selling his paintings at local art shows and galleries.

Me and my dad in 1966

Fast forward to me. I could not have grown up more different than my dad. I was raised by a single mom in San Francisco in the 1970s when Afros, peace signs, and tie dye were in.

More fast forwarding to me now as a mom, living in what used to be the chicken capital of the world, surrounded by three-bedroom, two-bath ranch-style homes and working-class families where Afros, peace signs, and tie dye were never in.

To my utter joy and amazement, and after living here for half of my son's life (he's eight) we are also surrounded (as in outskirts) by family-owned farms. It took me a while to discover them. I was too busy shopping at chain stores for our food, proud to find the best deals and save that all-elusive dollar.

My how a little something called a the Great Recession can change your outlook on life. OK, that's getting a little too deep. So let me sum it up by saying we now 'shop' at several local farms. The term is locavore: eating what grows within 100 miles of where you live. (We want to spend our elusive dollars wisely and help our local economy and maybe save the planet!)

So this 'post' thanks giving goes to the hard-working, dedicated families that grow healthy, chemical-free food in our little, river town that is only a 60-minute drive from where I grew up.

Actually, I should call this an ode, 'that'd be poetry' as I so clumsily like to call it. An ode for the love of farm.

Maybe I'll learn how to can tomatoes, make plum-mead wine, and grow a vegetable garden (hey, you can take the girl out of the city...). Now it's time to put in some farmin'.

I wrote this ode after taking my son and some friends to u-pick day at a second-generation organic farm in our area.

Families gathering
Picking fresh-grown produce
Loads of sunshine
Fresh air with a hint of hay
Filling two bags full
Pulling a squeaky cart
Stomping in the dusty dirt
Chasing butterflies
Digging for fingerling potatoes
Pulling up yellow onions
Cutting dark green dino kale
Having lunch and waving away the bees
Climbing the big, red, rusty tractor
And finding more hidden potatoes.

Photo by Lisa Nolan

You can follow my blog on Facebook here and my Moms Who Write and Blog Facebook here. I'm also on Twitter and Pinterest. Thank you for stopping by!

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Mom Lit Holiday Hop 11/24 to 1/5/13: Mom bloggers showcase their holiday memories!

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa Nolan) — Sat, 24 Nov 2012 01:50:00 +0000

Hang out at the Holiday Hop! November 24 through January 5th!

My Brain is Mushy or This is a Midnight Rant {Real Life Wednesday}

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa Nolan) — Wed, 21 Nov 2012 07:32:00 +0000

Photo by J. Holmes.

My mind is blanking out... too much Internet surfing and social media binging and distractions from the American Music Awards on cable TV. It's made my brain matter mushy. How do I un-mush it? Grab a pen and paper and write whatever pours from my fingertips to the page.

But first I must turn off my computer, my smartphone, and my TV--is it still called a TV? Why not a smart

TV or does that sound too weird? Why is it OK to call a phone smart and not a TV? Maybe TV has gotten a bad rap: it's too passive. Heck, you don't even have to get up to change the channels any more. Remember those days? And if you know what rabbit ears are then you know what snow means and VHS and cassette tapes and stereo. Should I keep going? Sure, why not.

I think my brain is getting de-mushed... or is it. Let's hope so. (OK, truth be known, it's 10:45 p.m. and my bedtime pill is starting to kick in.)

I'm feeling kind of old. What's up with that? Is it because I still don't own a smart phone? (Lucky me, I get to save $75 every month. Now aren't you jealous!)

Hey, Justin Bieber is rocking out to Stevie Wonder who's performing a tribute to Dick Clark. What binds them together you ask (besides the American Music Awards)? Not TV or smart phones or rabbit ears.

It's their love and dedication for the craft--of music.

That's what binds us bloggers and writers together, our love and commitment to our word-smith craft... in spite of all the distractions (oh, look, a chicken).

I have no idea what I just wrote.

Goodnight.

Linking up with Real Life Wednesday at Pickle Bums!

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Waving at Trees {The Sunday Parenting Party}

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa Nolan) — Sun, 18 Nov 2012 17:32:00 +0000

Photo by M. Jost.

When my son JJ was still young enough to sit in a stroller and not get fussy, we took walks in our tree-lined, main-street neighborhood where JJ enjoyed smiling at passersby. Most people smiled back. In fact, it was hard not to ignore his fat cheeks, wide grin, and a kind of bounce that he did when he saw another human being. The reason my son bounced in his stroller when he saw people walking passed us was because he could not wave to them.

My son also loved to look up at the trees. He was transfixed by them. It made me wonder. Did he see the changes in the colors of the leaves and branches from bare to budding green, then yellow, orange, and brown?

One particularly windy day while we were out on a walk, my son gazed up at the trees as we strolled down the grey, gum-stained sidewalk. I saw his arm and hand go up. I held my breath. Then his little pudgy hand moved. I stopped and watched him looking up at the tree. I saw leaves blowing in the wind. My son was waving back at them. Did he think the tree was waving hello to him and he was determined to wave back? I honestly thought in that the moment the billowing leaves were teaching my tot with Down syndrome how to wave his hands.

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Funny how we spend our time researching the best toys and developmentally appropriate activities; and weed through second-hand toys at garage sales and thrift shops looking for gems, when what we are missing is right below us and beside us and above us, even in a busy street on a windy day.

Photo by Lisa Nolan

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Mom Lit Weekend Socials

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa Nolan) — Sat, 17 Nov 2012 17:48:00 +0000

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Positive Thinking and ALL THAT {Real Life Wednesday}

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa Nolan) — Wed, 14 Nov 2012 06:45:00 +0000

Photo by M. Jost

I'm all for positive thinking, I used to keep a notebook by my bed with positive affirmations I'd write down (after a while they all started repeating themselves). I can close my eyes and imagine that literary agent calling me on the phone, "Lisa, you're a terrific writer! Sign on the dotted line!"

Or seeing, in my mind, my newly published book, in all its glory, sitting in a bookstore window, or linked on Amazon.com.

Yes, I can imagine all that, and more!

But no amount of positive thinking and imagining (and hoping and dreaming) will make my novel, my manuscript, the best it can be, enough for an agent, let alone a publisher, want it. That takes hard work, day in and day out.

Not to mention the first and second and third drafts, the rewrites upon rewrites, the tinkering, with more on the way.

It's like wishing your house was clean and waking up to see a shiny kitchen floor and no dirty dishes in the sink! Ha! That takes getting your hands dirty, and wet! No, if you want your house clean you have to do it yourself, scrub, scrub, scrub!

Unless, of course, you can afford a house cleaner.

Maybe I'll think upon that, too!

So for all you aspiring writers out there, and aspiring house cleaners, pull up your sleeves and get to work!

{From the archives}
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I've Got the Sweetest Hangover... That I Don't Want to Get Over {Real Life Wednesday}

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa Nolan) — Fri, 09 Nov 2012 05:52:00 +0000

If you live in the United States, you were up on Tuesday night watching the results of the presidential election, or listening to it on talk radio, or you crawled under a rock. Being a closet political junkie (oops, the secret is out!) I was glued to... not MSNBC, not CNN, and not my local news station (OK, maybe all three, I am a junkie). And no, I did not crawl under a rock (not yet, any way). I was doing what every other mom was doing that night, I was partying it up on social media!

Well, from all that partying and tweeting and commenting and sharing and reply tweeting, I paid the price on Wednesday. I had an election hangover. I stayed up way too late. Way-too-late. (Just one more tweet! Just one more comment or share on Facebook! Just one more minute of election coverage on the news! Because I'm a junkie.)

As a result, I only got three hours of sleep.

And all the next day I was glued to my couch, going in and out of dreamless sleep, and or gazing into space,

and or just SMILING! (If you were rooting for the blue team Tuesday night you'll understand because you were smiling all day Wednesday, too.)

So, without further delay, here are my favorite tweets and Facebook comments, by me and the other moms I was cyber-hanging-out with on election night. (Warning, the words vagina, va-jay-jay, and a**hole are used.)

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@HouseTalkN tweeted: Hopped up on my kid's candy, watching election coverage

My reply: Word!

@xmintycupcakesx tweeted: Aww man I left my house to go and have a coffee with my sister! Obama won?!? I thought it was going to take hours

My reply: Me too! I was thinking at least 3 a.m. Now I get to go to bed early, and like, read a book or something.

@sayitrahshay tweeted to me: I love Bob. Even though he needs to be in bed.

Me tweeting: Big Bird is doing a happy dance!

Me tweeting: Stoners in Washington are doing a happy dance--a slow happy dance!

@mannahattamamma tweeted: when Mitt says he gave his all to the campaign does that include the off-shore accounts?

@kathrynschulz (Tammy Duckworth) tweeted: "Elected to the Senate today: the first disabled woman, first openly lesbian woman, first Asian woman. Binder full of freaking awesome."

Me tweeting: It's ladies night and the feelings right! (New Hampshire's Maggie Hassan, Senator Jeanne Shaheen, Ann McLane Kuster & Carol Shea-Porter!)

Me commenting on Facebook: Sharing "BREAKING: Both Maine and Maryland have won the freedom to marriage for same-sex couples. More Minnesota and Washington soon." Replying: Awesome! Can this night get any better?! I just might get frisky with my hubby.
My best friend replied: Meow.

Me tweeting to @sperk01: Thank you Ohio! You guys, and you va-jay-jays, rock!

Me tweeting: Va-jay-jays get the last word! (Which includes NO vaginal probes!)

@sellabitmum tweeted: I have such a happy vagina tonight.

Me reply tweeting to @sellabitmum: Me, too... We now have proof that va-jay-jays are smarter than a**holes!

Me tweeting: I think I'm changing my name to Elizabeth,or Tammy, or Claire. I can't decide... because they all ROCK!

Me tweeting: The binders full of women have spoken! I am woman! (In a binder.) Here me roar!

@sellabitmum tweeting: Yes Virginia...there is a Santa Claus... Please.

Me replying tweeting to @sellabitmum: Yes, Vagina, there is a Santa Clause.. sounds better! LOL.

Blog comment from Mud Hut Mama: "My two year old saw Obama's speech and asked me, "'Is that a gentleman Mama?"' I told her, "'why yes he certainly is'" and when her father got home she said, "'Dada I'm not allowed to watch my show when Mama wants to see her gentleman.'"

And my favorite tweet of the night:

@TinyBlueLines tweeting: I explained to my 4 yr old that the Prez is the "Boss of the country." Her reply? "Oh, I thought you were the boss of the country."

My reply tweet: You need to put that on a T shirt and sell it! OMG! Oh, and I'm stealing it for my Facebook feed.

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Putting all funny aside, election night was a great night to be a woman, a mom, and of course, A BLOGGER!

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