Just What I Needed

Woke up to bleak skies and grey weather. Then it had the nerve to snow...  The best thing about this day so far is

Me & this kid, being silly!

Exactly what I needed today: big smiles

Yep. I get to spend time with DJ!!!

How can anyone not feel better looking at that precious boy? We are playing around with the webcam. I wish DJ would actually sit still for a picture. I already have a crappy webcam, but this child is wiggling and giggling so much that I can't get a clear shot!

I'm only posting because for some reason, DJ likes watching me type (???) Little weirdo!

Peace
--Free

Thoughts on Poverty and Wealth

• "Poor" is not a dirty word.
• Not all "poor" people are poor because they deserve to be.
• Not all poor people are sad.
• Not all poor people are happy.
• Being poor does not always mean a lack of ambition or morals or character.
• A lot of times, being poor means being unwilling to do anything and everything for profit.
• "Rich" is not a dirty word.
• Not all rich people have a lack of morals, character or compassion for others.
• Not all rich people are happy.
• Not all rich people are sad.
• Not all poor people are lazy.
• Not all rich people are hard workers.
• Lazy is lazy.
• Hard work is hard work, no matter what the profit.
• People doing jobs that won't make them rich are needed as much as people doing jobs that will make them rich.
• For some people, "poor" means working hard and still not being able to afford healthcare or education or a decent existence.
• For some people, "rich" means being healthy, happy, loved and at peace with themselves.
• We need to stop glorifying the wrong definitions of rich and poor.
• We need to start valuing character more than we value status.
• We need to instill in our children better reasons for pursuing education.
• We need to start seeing each person for what they really are rather than for what we think they might be.
• We need to start portraying ourselves in the way we want to be seen.
• We need to stop making excuses for our poverty of character and morals.
• The rich man receiving government assistance for being rich needs to stop telling the poor man not to receive government assistance for being poor.
• We need to do away with labels for government assistance that demonize the poor while excusing or applauding the rich.
• Those who use their wealth to trample, loot and corrupt are as bad as the poor who use their poverty as an excuse to trample, loot and corrupt.
• Prince or pauper, we are all human.
• We need to stop banding together as the "haves" and the "have nots" and start banding together as the brothers and sisters who are all trying to live our lives the best we can.
• We need to start valuing the lives of all good people, rich or poor.

Peace

--Free

I Tried Flaxseed Hair Gel

Thanks to a very helpful video posted by a G+ fave of mine, Keenya Williams, I discovered homemade flaxseed gel.



Now, first, let me tell you that I was a little put off by the texture of the finished product. I made a jar for my sister and she refuses to use it. Why? The gel is the same texture and consistency of the snot I have cleaned from the face of my little nephew. I'm pretty sure that anybody working on special effects for movies has used this very recipe for creating boogers.

But, as icky as the product is, I have to say that I love what it does for my hair. (Note: I wore gloves and refused to look in a mirror as I applied it!)

I haven't used the gel for a twist-out yet. I just applied it to my damp (shampooed & conditioned) hair. I like that it brings out my curl pattern without being oily or sticky. Once the gel dries, my hair is soft, and there is none of the "crunch" I've gotten with other products. (By the way, I lied. There is a crunch factor when the gel dries, but I find that it goes away once I sort of massage the dried curls.)

Some sites suggest using the gel for skincare as well as for the hair. Another nice thing is that the gel is beneficial for all types of hair textures: from very fine and straight to all levels of kinky-curly. (As a test, I'm going to have my niece test it on her straight, half-Caucasian hair texture for conditioning and style-control. I'll try to remember to do a post on her results.)

Because I am lazy as hell, and because I hated scrubbing the pot I cooked the gel in, I modified the recipe a bit to a "no-boil" method. I just let the seeds soak overnight in a container of cold water. In the morning, I used a strainer to separate the gel from the seeds and mixed in the honey and some olive oil and Jamaican Black Castor Oil. (The "booger factor" is still present with this method!) Of course, I am storing the product in the fridge. Since flax is a food, I'm hoping that someone can tell me how I will know when the gel is "old" or turned bad.

I am so glad that Keenya posted her video. Thought I've been using milled flax in my smoothies, I had never heard of using flaxseed (gel) for the hair. Like I said, I've now seen information (whether verified or not) about using flax for a variety of beauty and health issues:

• lotion and scrub
• face & hair mask
• flax & chia substitute for eggs, here, here, and here, and many others

I've read that some flaxseed users like the gel on their hair but not on their skin. This is a discussion about the issues a person experienced with their hair and skin after using flaxseed topically. As with everything, folks are going to have different reactions and experiences.

Big bonus to using flax seed (for whatever purpose) is the price. Living in Alaska, I am used to things costing more her than elsewhere. I bought my seeds in bulk at our local healthfood store (Natural Pantry). The golden flax cost $2.29/lb while the brown flax cost $2.19/lb. I got a little bit of both, but I've read that there isn't a lot of nutritional difference between the two types. For cooking, the golden seeds tend to blend better into most foods -color-wise - same as white pepper vs black pepper. ~shrug~ 

There ya go.

Peace

--Free

Podcasts for Writers (or nosy people!)

For a person who is so anti-Apple that I hate all things "i", this is hard for me to admit: I signed up for an iTunes account.

~sipping coffee to get the bad taste out of my mouth~

Of course, I could listen to podcasts via any player (or "podcatcher", I guess), but I'm lazy. I use something else on my phone, but I (kind of, sort of, maybe - haven't decided yet) like the iTunes store on my PC. I don't love it, but until I find something else, it will do.

That's not the point here. The point is, I found (via iTunes) some podcasts that are useful for writers. Or for nosy folks. I fit both categories.  You can listen to these podcasts however you are able to. When their is no link provided, just search iTunes. Here ya go:

• The Narrative Breakdown
• Writing for Rookies
• Write the Book
• Bailey's Writing Tips 
• Helping Writers Become Authors
• Grammar Girl's Quick and Dirty Tips is on iTunes
• The Writing Show
• Writing Challenges

There are others. I saw some that were geared toward specific genres; some were discussions with established authors. What prompted me to even search any of these out was finding Grammar Girl there.

Of course, now that I am discovering podcasts in general, I like finding fun things to listen to or watch while I am exercising. One note: to sign up without a credit card, I followed the instructions shown here. Thanks to them, my cheap ass is safe. For now.)

Now, about the iTunes Store (and podcasts), my main issue is that it's not easy to move back and forth between searches. So, I am off to check out some other "podcatchers".

Peace

--Free 

P.S.: What is up with Blogger's spellchecker? Isn't the plural of "podcast" "podcasts"??? ~face palm~

**PRODUCT GRIPE** Canon Pixma MG series

So, a couple years ago, I bought a Canon printer. I didn't need anything fancy or multi-wonderful. What I needed was a basic machine to print out simple black-ink pages of my writing project. While we are in the computer age of electronic books and all the software we need to write and read them on our PCs, phones and tablets, there's nothing as useful for writers as the printed page. I can't even fully comprehend how to edit and make notes without actual  paper pages in my hand.

I bought the Canon Pixma MG2100 because it looked simple to operate,  didn't take up a lot of space in my cramped work area, and it was around $50 bucks. I remember that when I saw it at the store, I joked to my friend that, even for a simple printer, the price was almost too good to be true. She thought that I'd lucked out big time. So I bought that piece of bitch.

First let me point out the positives about the printer - because there are some things I like about it. It is pretty quiet when printing, and  it connects easily to my PC with a USB cord. Also, the printer looks good; it's not some ugly piece of appliance that you want to hide under a cute throw when it's not in use. It was set up to scan, copy and fax. I can scan and copy right from my Android phone so I wasn't worried about those functions but, hey, to have them all in one for a super-low price... Not bad, right? I didn't really have any serious complaints until the ink ran out so fast that I swear I only printed may 20 pages (some color, some black). After that, I had to keep fiddling with the settings to get any more use from the cartridges.

For a while, I had no problem replacing cartridges. Until a few weeks ago.

Walmart was out of the replacements I'd bought previously. When I looked at home for the manual (to see if I could use other brands, etc.) I realized I'd packed the book in  a storage room. Under about 9 million other things I'd put away between moving from one place to another. No problem, right? This is the age of the internet so I should be able to find a manual online somewhere. Maybe even at Canon's website.

You'd think.

Canon's website is perfect for getting driver updates and all kinds of product support. For everything but my model of printer. I decided to use their contact form to ask about the MG2100. That model is not even listed. I can contact them for the MG-this-one or MG-that-one, but not for the MG-one-that-I-have. I had to cheat on the form and use the closest model number (because you can't "submit" the query without inserting a model number).

I'm waiting to hear back from them about obtaining a replacement manual. I won't be surprised if their response doesn't turn out to be a polite version of "What'd you expect for 50 bucks? That we'd keep product info available for owners of the old printers?"

Yeah.

Guess that $50 price wasn't marked as a bargain as much as it was for dumping old inventory.

What I really wish is that I had never gotten rid of the old dot-matrix printer I had years ago. That thing printed from a ribbon that lasted forever. I was a little annoyed that it rocked the printer stand so much that everyone downstairs from me thought we were having a minor tremor, but I loved being able to print and re-print my work every time I made revisions.

My birthday's coming up so, when I was whining to my sister and niece about this cute little Pixma paperweight, they asked if I was hinting for new printer. (By the way, my family has always believed in my future as a writer. Good love from good people.) I wasn't hinting but, since they brought it up... Ha!

Tell you what, I will make sure that if I am getting a printer for my birthday, it won't start with "C" and end with "anon". The folks in my life love me, but I don't think they love me enough to supply me with printers every time Canon comes out with a new one. And, who know? This might be the way things go with all products, but I won't get burned twice by the same flame.

Now, let me go see which one of the fam loves me enough to run off a print of my rough draft...

Peace
--Freee

***REVIEW*** Tony Little's Gazelle Edge

The other day, my neighbor gave me this:

Tony Little's Gazelle Edge

She's had surgeries for a serious back problem and her doctor has recommended a different type of exercise. Because she knows I've been doing a lot of regular walking and working out, she was kind enough to gift me the machine. (I'm going to look for a nice little "thank you" gift for her.)

I've used the Gazelle Edge regularly for the past 3 days and I'm ready to post this review.

PROS

• Very easy to store (for now, I'm keeping mine propped behind the bedroom door).
• Easy to move and set up for use. 
• Can be used for varying speeds and intensity of "walking".
• Feels stable and sturdy (even when I move faster and with longer strides). I have balance problems on a treadmill at fast speeds, but I'm able to use the Gazelle without holding the handles, which is great for doing a jogging type stride.
• Good workout for people who need something low-impact.
• Has a battery-operated tracker for speed, time & distance. (I haven't put in batteries. So far, I'm using my Android Pedometer Pro app.)
• After just 3 days, I can feel the ache in my legs & arms from a good workout.
• It's really quiet. (There's some mild squeaking when moving fast, but I'm going to follow directions for oiling the parts.)
• Can be used in small spaces. (I place mine at the base of my queen-sized bed & still have lots of room to make long strides if I want.)
• Though I got mine free, the price range I've seen online ($130-$140) seem reasonable for the value.
• Convenience. I save time driving to and from the gym to use a treadmill; I can get my exercise no matter the weather; and it takes very little motivation to do my exercises while watching TV or listening to music. (I've gotten heavy into podcasts of news & mystery theater type shows while I get my workout.)
• Because of all the above, it's easy to use this machine on a regular basis.

CON

• Don't lost your user manual or DVD. I couldn't find a complete manual online. I did find a basic manual, but I've had to resort to YouTube and other places for examples of exercises.

As you can tell, I had to stretch to find that one negative! The one thing I do notice is that, while this is a great workout for my legs and arms, my abs aren't getting as much of a workout. Don't get me wrong, I do feel some of what I call "workout ache" in my abs; I just feel it most in my thighs and calves.

The biggest advantage to having this machine is the convenience. When I was trying to get all my exercise at the gym, I sometimes just couldn't talk myself into making the drive in poor weather. Even on nicer days, I had to consider things like the cost of gasoline for my car, finding time in between other appointments, etc. Now that I have this handy alternative, I find it easy to do a little bit of exercise all during my day. My favorite time to do a little gliding on the Gazelle is first thing in the morning and after meals. The first day I had it, I used it while I was watching a documentary on Netflix. Without even realizing it, I'd been gliding for over an hour.

Do I think that I'm going to suddenly start dropping pounds because I have this machine? Maybe not suddenly, but I know for a fact that even light exercise on a regular basis can make a difference in the way I look and feel. I wasn't going to the gym as regularly as I should have been and I have come a looong way from where I was just a few months ago. I truly do think that I'm going to see a more drastic a change in less time if I keep using the Gazelle every day. I see a benefit to my energy level and sleeping pattern. My recent fatigue is already fading somewhat.

At this point, I can say that having the Gazelle is beneficial for someone who is a too busy (or bit lazy) to get to a gym more than a couple of days a week.

Peace

--Free

Prenatal Frustration?

Not having a baby, folks, but I am trying to birth a book. I know that writing can't (for mothers who don't write) compare to having a human baby, but... For people who write, the chore is very much like birthing something. The analogy might tick off some folks, but it works for me.

I am ready to be over and done with this current novel. When I said that to a friend of mine the other day, she made the comparison to her first pregnancy. I saw the truth in this, but couldn't resist pointing out that this is not my first baby book. I guess I was a little pissy when told her that because she had to add snarky by-the-way bit: "It doesn't get any easier with the second or third kid."

Damnit, she's right.

When I considered the analogous relationship between writing a book and having a baby, I had to go look of the stages of pregnancy. I've never been in that amazing situation, but I was stunned at how much it relates to what I go through as a writer. (And to paraphrase Ms. Angelou: A writer writes not because she is published, but because she has stories to tell. So there.)

Just a baby forms in stages, so does a book. Of course, the stages of a book are less straightforward. Because I am either insane or just a little bit twisted, I sometimes come up with characters before I have a plot. Still, I start with an idea about something.

Right now, my book is hanging somewhere in the land of the never-going-to-be-born. I swear I've been rewriting parts of the DNA for weeks and weeks. Meanwhile, whole sections of the story  has sprinted right into the embryonic stage. ~face palm~

There are days when I don't even want this baby anymore. Unlike mommy-mommies, I can put the project on hold for years. If I could stand it. But I can't stand it. Just like being pregnant, there's no going back. I can't even just destroy this book. It was a part of me from the moment I imagined it in my head. It's never going to not be, even though it may never be born.

Wow.

This book didn't ask to be conceived, but the story is going to be there - in my head, in my consciousness - whether I write it or not. At this point, I can't even imagine not writing it to completion. Just like a mother anticipating the birth of her child, I already think about the little one. Will it live with purpose and bring  joy to others?

Yeah.

I ran all this past my friend (the mommy-mommy), she thought it was silly until I got to the part about just wanting to be done.

"A woman can only be pregnant for nine months," I whined. "This book has been in me for over a year." And that's when she made a confession both parents and writers can understand.

"Love making the little rugrats, but can't wait to get them out of you."

Peace
--Free

P.S.: Seriously, parents, I know that what you do is amazing and beautiful. My post is just a little piece of humor, and not meant to diminish your superhuman abilities to do the job you all do!

Speak the Truth

While browsing Tumblr a minute ago, I came across this very cool pic

even if it's shaking with laughter **

Normally, I'd get all serious and go on a rant about how true this truth is. But because the sun is shining today (and because I feel good for the first time in a long time while wearing a tank and stretch pants), I thought I'd get a little silly.

What are some of the things you do that you would never speak the truth about? I bet just thinking about it made you cringe a little, didn't it? I know the feeling.

In the spirit of being brave (or silly), I'll share:

• Men are accused of always checking out a woman's boobs. I sometimes go into crotch-frenzy. There are days when I can't look at a photo of a nice-looking guy without my eyes going straight to his package. Speak the truth.
• Sometimes when I see a story about someone jumping in a freezing river or otherwise risking their life to save a dog (or cat), I can't help but think about all the humans no one is trying to save.
• In spite of my previous rant about judging someone's romantic choices, I will sometimes see a couple and think, "He must have a lot of money" (or be great in the sack, or drive a hot car), and "She must have one hell of a personality" (or sack skills, or knows how to "work a root"). 
• I'll see a smoking hot woman and instantly want to find reasons to hate her. I've even sometimes wished that, if she tans, she ends up looking like a purse in ten years. If she has great hair, I might follow her to try to spot weave tracks or roots that need a touch-up. (I actually did cringe while typing that one!)
• I sometimes fantasize about winning a lottery just so that I can visit all the people who ever hurt my feelings. I'd drive to their house in a really hot-looking car (maybe even with a chauffeur), invite them to lunch and let their burning jealousy be my dessert. (I'm too old and mature to think such childish things. But I just did.)
• There have been times when I hated so much to be wrong about something that I made up b.s. "facts" to prove my point. (To be fair, I only did this with the people I knew were too lazy to do a little research.)
• I have judged people by their appearances. Years back, whenever a friend and I went to nightclubs, we'd assign a "slut meter" number to other women. We gave higher numbers to certain women based on nothing other than our own envy. Whenever a woman got hit on more than we did, my friend and I would give her an automatic 10.
• That slut meter game is not the most shameful one my friend and I played in judging people.
• I can be extremely petty sometimes. As bad as my memory is, for some reason I have no problem retaining thoughts about what and how someone says anything that irks me. I file that away and work out exactly what (and when) to say something to get them back.
• Shade. I can throw serious shade.

Okay. Sharing all that is no longer fun. I actually think I might need to go into deep prayer or see a therapist now. Right now.

Peace

--Free

P.S.: I sure hope that shemavericksniper doesn't hate me for sharing the pic in such an irreverent post. I did love the pic and the thought in the way I'm sure it was intended.

**REVIEW** ProWritingAid (Writing Analysis Tool)

This is #1 of 2 posts I'm doing today because I found some software I wanted to mention. The first one is for writers of all kinds: technical, business, creative, students - whoever. It's called ProWritingAid. I tried it out all this morning, and here's my take on the pros and cons:

PROS

• Analyzes writing from several different editing viewpoints - not just grammar and spelling. I counted 20 built-in reports, plus some customizable "house" reports.
• Integrates into MS Word as an add-in.
• Generates a report that can be viewed  alongside your Word document.
• Has a 14-day trial download.
• Has reasonable pricing for 1 to 3 year ranges. 
• Can be used online(with limitations), without a download, for free.
• It would clean that previous sentence of mine right up. This one too. Ha!
• Giving feedback on the site is made easy.
• Would be very useful for students, businesspeople, and technical writers.

CONS

• I had trouble using the "Help" function.
• I needed "Help" to understand some of the report information.
• The add-in version requires an internet connection.
• I had trouble trying to run a new report on a different document.
• The lifetime pricing might seem reasonable, but what happens if the company goes obselete? (This happened with the original StoryBoard software creators.)
• The more advanced functions are tricky to master.
• Fiction/creative writers might get annoyed at some of the nit-picky rules.
• One of the reports is based on some new-age-y stuff to do with NLP... ~shrug~

I left out this one nice (but slightly odd) Pro: being able to generate a "word cloud" from your document. This is mine from my (unfinished) manuscript

PRO! Will be doing lots of these.

Pretty cool, huh? You know that I'll be creating more of those whenever I have writer's block.

Overall, I think the Pros beat the Cons.

While I got very annoyed having to tell the software to ignore some words ("y'all" is a word, y'all!), I did find it helpful to know when I was over-using words or going heavy on the adverbs. I think this is probably the best (mostly free) tool I've seen for editing. 

One big caution to creative writers: don't get bogged down in all the various reports until you are finished with a rough draft. 

Forgive the cloddy writing in this post, I didn't run it through the software. Deal with it.

Peace

--Free

Just How Nosy *Are* You?

Yesterday, I went grocery shopping with my niece, "CC". I rode with her so that I could spend a little time with DJ. Of course, he completely ignored me because he was playing with his little Talk 'n Spell. Apparently a little book that lights up while talking to him in a creepy voice is way more interesting than I am. Whatever. (Later on, I bribed him with gummie candies and got a kiss.)

On the way home, turning off the main road and into my neighborhood, we saw a few cop cars in front of an apartment building. Now, my neighborhood is in a nice area but, we have a lot of strange residents. Most of my neighbors are more interesting-strange than dangerous-strange.

There's the one lady who walks her dogs all the way down the street away from her apartment building just to let them take a crap in front of our building. She never bags the mess. Of course, I have the crazy lady upstairs from me who's on the unofficial Neighborhood Poop Patrol. She watches out the window for offenders and will chase them down to scold them about their doggy dookie. (Generally, I think of her as crazy, but I'm glad for her N.P.P. diligence. I don't have a dog at the apartment and I hate dealing with other people's, well, crap.)

Then there's the couple in the building across the street from us. They fight like David and Goliath. I think the wife is Goliath. But that's only when they are mad at each other. When they are getting along, they really get along. I'm talking extreme public displays of affection. I wouldn't want small kids to witness the show they put on for all of us. And they really can put on a show. Right out in the open. I've had cigarette cravings after watching them "get along".

One old guy next door is, apparently, a careful drunk. Some Friday evenings, he drives off to a bar somewhere and stays most of the night. Really early the next morning, he comes walking (or trying to) back home, singing loudly. This happens about twice a month. He really likes Patsy Cline's "Crazy". It's kind of cute that no one yells out their window for him to shut up. One time, I heard someone hanging out a window singing along with the old guy.

Still, most of the people around here are harmless (though I do think there's some low-level drug-dealing going on by the teens just up the block). When we see cops in the neighborhood, we figure they've come to deal with something minor.

So, yesterday, we barely glanced at the cop cars. We were in the middle of discussing some juicy family gossip. (This particular niece of mine is the Rona Barrett of our family. Or in youth-speak: Perez Hilton. I call her our Conway Twitter.)

As CC is yakking away, and I hear her say "They have guns", my first thought was, "Why would R* and L* have guns?" (Remember, we were gossiping.) Then I thought of the cops we were passing and thought, "Well, yeah." Then I saw two of the cops standing next to an apartment building with their guns drawn.

A normal and sane person would speed up a little to get past any possible danger. Right?

CC is mostly sane, but she is nosy as hell. This heifer slowed down to a crawl and started rubbernecking. When I reminded her that we had DJ in the back seat (and me right up front), she did speed up.

Now, I am nosy. I'm so nosy I once fell into a room trying to eavesdrop on a conversation. But my niece is so nosy that when we got around the corner to my apartment, she wanted to leave DJ with me so she could walk back down the street and see what was going on with the cop situation. She is so nosy that she wants to get a police scanner app for her iPhone.

Well, I shamed her out of leaving DJ, then I reminded her that innocent people have been killed by stray bullets in dangerous situations. I told her to take the back way out of the neighborhood and tune into the news when she was safely home. I went inside and locked all my doors and windows.

Ten minutes later, CC called me. Four more cops had appeared on the scene (guns drawn), and they had started clearing the building. CC hadn't been able to get any more details because a policeman had waved her along when she drove past. (So much for taking the back way...)

As soon as I hung up with CC, I called my sister and told her that our niece is a crazy woman. "I'm not that nosy," I said. My sister reminded me of that time I was eavesdropping and fell into the room when someone opened the door. I reminded her of the time she'd got busted listening in on a phone conversation. (That time, Mom had put down the phone in one room and crept up on my sister listening on the extension in another room. I think my sister developed a heart murmur.)

Okay, so "nosy" runs in the family. I'm just not as nosy as my niece. I'm too chicken to be that nosy. Now, if we're talking eavesdropping, I'm your girl. Or, if I'm a safe distance away (or behind a barrier), I'll even watch something dangerous unfold - hell, I'll bring the refreshments. I'm just not the girl to hang out where stray bullets (or fists) my fly my way. I am thinking of looking for one of those scanner apps, though. Do they make one for Android?

Peace
--Free