love

5 Movies My Boyfriend Made Me Watch

What happens when you find your true love at 36 and he just happens to be a movie critic? All that you thought you knew about movies goes by the wayside and a new world opens up to you. I thought I was pretty well versed in the film universe, but as Adam pointed out to me, I had some major gaps. He got the brilliant idea for each of us to come up with five films that the other had not seen and we would learn more about each other through our choices. I was ready at the get go for this challenge…the only stipulation was he couldn’t make me sit through a horror film. Thankfully none of those ranked on his list of five, so off we went. (For his review of my five movies, and you know you want to know what I picked, click here…) Continue reading →

Seven Sentences for Sunday: The Terror Strikes Again Edition

I’ve been gone. For 9 long months. You’d think I could have done something productive with such an extended period of time away…something like conceiving and growing and eventually producing an infant—but I’ve done that before. Maybe writing a full-length screenplay, or finally shopping my children’s books that need a publishing home? Nope. Sad to say I was simply uninspired. I had plenty going on to write about, including the beginning and end of another relationship, watching each of my children jump a year in age, the beginning of what I am hoping will be my final intimate relationship, as I have found someone who inspires my soul yet keeps me grounded…. Oh, yes, there was plenty of fodder on which to write. But I lost my way in editing land and am only recently finding my way out.

It’s time. My friends say it’s time. My love says it’s time. My doctor even told me to write for ten minutes each morning in order to get my rhythm back. So I figured the best way to use my 10 minutes is to start with the tried and true Seven Sentences for Sunday.

Seven Sentences for Sunday: The Terror Strikes Again Edition

1. When it has been a while, forming an idea for a post is a bit like sex with a new love. All it takes is a bit of a connection, a raised eyebrow, or a half-smile, and suddenly the emotion takes over. You find yourself immersed in the experience, grasping at threads, and excited about the possibilities.

2. There’s also the terror that comes from the dichotomous struggle of worrying that you won’t be able to replicate the experience, or that you’ll fall so head over heels in love that you can’t possibly imagine your life without your lover or your writing. Both are equally terrifying.

3. Once I have written something….no matter how small…I begin to find inspiration in everything. I think this is true whenever you are doing something positive for the world—acts of kindness, peace, love, and yes, creativity, beget the same.

4. I have two writing challenges, one from my boyfriend and one from my sister, that have been set before me. I think I write best when a challenge is presented.

5. I had forgotten how seemingly easy but practically difficult it is to write 7 coherent sentences….maybe that’s a reason I stayed away so long.

6. And yet, I have already begun to think about next Sunday’s SSFS. I’m an enigma.

7. I hate horror movies. I steer far clear of haunted houses. However, when it comes to matters of the heart, I go for the thrill. I put my writing out there in the awareness that criticism could tear it to shreds. I hand the essence of my being over to my love, trusting him to hold it dear, but with the niggling fear that he has the power to crush it. That, I believe, is scarier than any John Carpenter or Wes Craven flick out there.

I love you all, some more than others.

Seven Sentences for Sunday: The Oddly Thankful Edition

A few weeks ago when I was visiting my sister in L.A., I visited her MOPS group. Along with their monthly teaching, they also did a craft project where they decorated mugs with things that they were thankful for that you might not necessarily be thankful for in the moment. With that in mind, here is my list of my oddly thankful things.

  1. I am thankful for sassy mouths…because it means my children have the power to reason with their strong vocabularies.
  2. I am thankful for middle of the night nursings…because those moments are so fleeting, and I know that it’s the only time that my baby will rely on me alone for nourishment. (respectfully borrowed from my sister, Lacey.)
  3. I am thankful for early morning wakeup calls during the school week…because it means I can make a fried egg sandwich for Rhett and see him and Jolie off to school.
  4. I am thankful for past mistakes—the ginormous ones and the only mildly big ones…because they guide me through the stumbling blocks that are sure to continue to line my life path.
  5. I am thankful for heartbreak…because it makes me appreciate the swooning of a new relationship that much more.
  6. I am thankful for afternoon kindergarten…because it means I get special time with Paisley every morning, even if it means stretching the budget just a bit tighter so I can stay home with her until she enters school full time next year.
  7. I am thankful for apartment living…because maintenance issues are not my own and because the kids have fun, understanding neighbors who don’t mind our loudness on occasion. 

I love you all, some more than others.

Seven Sentences for Sunday: The Steve’s Playlist Edition

Steve, the complete and utter romantic that he is, made me a playlist—something that is akin to the mix tapes of yore. It’s impossible to pick my top 7 favorites, but here are 7 that make my heart melt (in no particular order). I’ve included YouTube links for those who wish to get all mush-butt like me, just click on the song title.

  1. Chicago, “Make Me Smile”
  2. Eels, “I Like the Way This Is Going”
  3. Brandi Carlile, “Closer To You”
  4. Herb Alpert, “This Guy’s In Love With You”
  5. Glen Hansard & Marketa Irglova, “Falling Slowly”
  6. Norah Jones, “I’ve Got To See You Again”
  7. Corinne Bailey Rae, “Are You Here?”

I love you all, some more than others.

Seven Sentences for Sunday: The 7 Random Facts About Destiny Edition

  1. I eat ice cream from a mug. It tastes better and it feels like I’m getting more.
  2. I have a strong suspicion of anyone who can’t use chopsticks.
  3. Sliding Doors and Almost Famous are my two favorite movies of all time.
  4. Writing and quoting poetry to me are a fantastic way to get to second base.
  5. Heaven forbid, if I had to choose between being deaf, blind, or mute, I’d choose mute. I already clam up around people I don’t know, so I imagine it wouldn’t be too far of a stretch. Besides, I think I’d make a really cute mime.
  6. I love being kissed on New Year’s Eve. This year I plan on being kissed with my favorite band playing in the background—double score.
  7. I’d forgotten how often you have to do things one handed when you are carrying a sleeping/nursing newborn until I went to visit my 5 week old nephew last week. Not really a point of interest, but a fact nonetheless.

I love you all, some more than others.

Seven Sentences for Sunday: The Simple Rules Edition

Seven Rules for Dating Destiny, now that I’m online dating (eek!).

1. Thou shalt not reveal anything sexually about yourself on (or before) the first date that you would not tell your mother…or at least your best friend from college. Seriously, keep that shit to yourself until, say, I know more about you than what your favorite band is.Image

2. Thou absolutely positively shall not ever, never, tell me that you love me on the first date. Creepy to the nth degree, I don’t care how much of a romantic you are…

3. Thou shalt not even think about making me feel guilty for not rounding the bases before I am ready. I am wearing my “chastity belt” (unshaven legs) for a reason…deal with it.

4. Thou shalt respect the fact that I have children, that they are of utmost importance in my life, and that perhaps you should ask about them on occasion instead of ignoring that they exist.

5. If thoust want a response to your profile after thoust has checked out mine, send me an email with more than “hey…” And while we’re at it…if I have put myself out there by adding a few profile pics, you can add a few of your own. Don’t be a chickenshit.

6. Thou must understand that I am terrible at small talk…I will have revealed this before our date. So if thou can’t take the lead, then let’s do something action oriented, like putt-putt or bowling, where we can smack talk and have fun instead of staring at each other awkwardly over the dinner table.

7. Finally, don’t yell at me or otherwise talk down to me at any point during our budding relationship, because that will be the end of it right then and there. I went to a women’s college, I can stand up for myself.

I love you all, potentially one more than others…

The Queen of Hearts and the King of All Fools

King and Queen of Hearts

My Ideal

Last night Sam and I went down to Party in the Park, Cincinnati’s summer soiree that happens every Wednesday night where folks gather to drink beer and listen to live music. We started talking about potential mates, and I noted that there wasn’t a single man there within my age range. I might as well wait until I’m 45 to have some sort of romantic social life. He tried to disagree with me, but I pointed out the thirty-somethings that were there had never been married and were not looking to date a divorced mom of three. Those who might not be opposed to a relationship with a single mom were in their fifties and were looking more for someone in their mid- forties with older children. Again, not in my spectrum of possible partners. Sam begrudgingly agreed that the pickings were slim, but insisted that 45 seems like an awful long time to wait for that special someone to steal my heart. Perhaps he has a point, but I wouldn’t be opposed to waiting that long for the right someone. Continue reading →

Love What You Do, and Do It

This morning I had a meeting with a well-known publisher of one of Cincinnati’s preeminent magazines. I had done due diligence and picked up the magazine to browse through before my meeting to try and familiarize myself with exactly what I was getting myself into…after all, I was applying for a position that is normally reserved for underpaid twenty-somethings and here I am a thirty-something with specific needs to keep my family afloat. But it was an in into an industry where I want to grow and thrive, so I donned my suit instead of my normal work attire of jeans and a tee and prepared to put forth the best representation of myself. Continue reading →