HealthandHappiness

The second round of judging is complete in the short story contest on the Accentuate Writers Forum. They narrowed it down to eight finalists. It sure was exciting on the forum yesterday while everyone waited for the results. Even those of us already out of the running were caught up in it.

Of course, a 300.00 first prize is enough to make anybody anxious! There are some great stories this time. Whoever wins will have the distinction of knowing they beat out some stiff competition. All of those who place will know their stories are truly worth it.

The poetry contest is still running. The winners for it won’t be announced until next month. Michy knows how to keep the board hopping!

Any poets out there should come and join us in the fun. There’s nothing like rooting your friends on, while secretly hoping you win…he he.

Colder temperatures have arrived in Alabama. I love the crispness of the air and the fact that allergies are better in winter, but I don’t like cold weather at all. I freeze inside the house!

The heat is on but it’s never quite enough. I wear a light jacket almost every day during the winter. Good thing I live in a southern state, huh? I wouldn’t survive winter in Montana or Colorado.

I do enjoy getting all bundled up and taking a walk on a winter day. Being cold INSIDE is really the part that bothers me most. If I could be all warm and snuggly inside, I wouldn’t mind winter at all.

Any of you feel this way, or do you all love winter?

Are you an adult that still watches cartoons? Do you enjoy a good comic movie? Do these shows bring back fond memories from childhood? If so, you are in good company.

My husband and I love watching all the comic movies they have out. We have an extensive collection of the movies on DVD. We also watch cartoons on television on occasion, and animated movies.

One good thing about this is that we can enjoy movies with our son. He is seventeen and he likes the comic book movies just as much as we do. There’s something to be said for finding entertainment the adults and teenagers in a family can enjoy!

How many others out there never fully grew up?

Having a bad memory isn’t good at all. It wrecks havoc with your life and makes you feel like a total dweeb. You forget where you put things, what you need to do that day, or sometimes even where you were going!

Personally, a bad memory messes with my writing in unfortunate ways. I will know there is the perfect word, I know the meaning and that it will fit into the sentence I’m doing exactly right. The word will be on the tip of my tongue, but I just can’t think of it! I’ll end up using a totally different word in the end.

Another problem I have is remembering all the grammar rules. I can’t keep them all straight so I end up making mistakes. Cheat sheets are my friend!

I was trying to think of a way to put a positive light on having a bad memory. Last night it hit me. My husband and I were watching a movie. It’s one we own that I’ve seen before. I know the basic story, but there were quite a few things I didn’t remember at all. Sure did make watching the movie again more fun!

So how bout that? Something good for all of us folks with bad memories. We can watch the same movie repeatedly and it’s always exciting.

My brother went to McDonald’s in his town last week and put in an application. They called for an interview. We all thought he was finally going to get a job! No such luck.

The manager said she couldn’t hire him because he only had mill experience. It just doesn’t make any sense! They can train anyone to work at McDonald’s. I know because I worked at the one over here for a year.

I believe it has more to do with the fact that he’s 33 years old and needs a job. They think he won’t stay long and therefore don’t want to train him. If he were a woman, they would probably have taken a chance. I could be wrong, but I believe that’s part of the problem.

He’s still looking for work, and that McDonald’s is still short of employees. Go figure.

I have a friend who is doing the Medifast diet. She loves it! One thing she likes is that it’s set up to provide all the nutrients the body needs while keeping calories and carbohydrates low. This results in quick, significant weight loss.

I haven’t personally tried Medifast, but I have tried other diets. I’ve did Slim Fast, calorie counting, Meridia, several different low carb diets, and a plan off the food pyramid.

I had success with each diet as long as I stuck to it. Low carb is best for me because I have diabetes. It works best with my body chemistry, and produces the best weight loss results. Unfortunately, it’s not easy for me to stick to. I want foods I’m not supposed to have on a low carb diet.

I CAN do it if I really put my mind to it. I just don’t always want to. Are any of you like that? Do you pick and chose when you follow your diet?

What are some different diets you’ve tried? Which one did you like best?

Do you remember playing in the rain when you were a kid? I sure do. It was lots of fun and something we weren’t allowed to do all the time so it was even more of a treat.

Jumping in puddles, dancing in the rain, and just running around were all big fun back then. When was the last time you played in the rain? It hasn’t been that long for me. I’m still a kid at heart.

I often jump in puddles and splash my husband and son. This doesn’t always go over too well with them. They have learned to expect it though. If they think about it, they stay far away from me when it’s raining. Sometimes they’ll even join in the fun!

Do you revert to childhood on occasion? It really is fun. You should try it sometime!

My husband is an electrical lineman. One of the requirements for his job is the ability to work in all weather conditions. I don’t see how they do it.

It’s raining here today and they are out there working. Unless it’s really pouring down or there’s a lot of lightning, they work. Of course, they are the ones sent out to put the power back on when bad weather strikes, so it goes to reason they work during bad weather at home too.

 I do worry about him working in inclement weather. It’s more dangerous when the poles, tools, and wire get slippery. Just walking on the hills and sides of the road is more dangerous. Then you have to fact that they get more colds. It never fails, if one of them gets sick they all get sick.

However, it’s just something that comes with the job. They all know it and are used to it. We are all thankful for the people who are capable of doing these jobs.

I hope everyone takes a minute to think about these guys and gals when their lights come on in the morning, their stove works, and the heat is going. Without people willing to work in any weather, none of this would be possible.

Yesterday the results came in for the semi-finalist of the Accentuate Writers short story contest. I wasn’t one of them. I got upset because I thought my writing had improved. While it has improved in some areas, I still have a lot of work to do on editing and grammar. For this contest, the whole package has to be good for you to stand a chance. I will keep working with hopes of making it one day.

Getting upset and crying really play hell with my body. Fibromyalgia reacts to stress. Crying equates stress. I was hurting so bad yesterday I could hardly sit still!

I have to learn to handle rejection better. The first contest I entered didn’t bother me as much and I handled the stress very well. This one bruised my ego I reckon because I thought I’d improved.

I am going to use this lesson as a learning tool for my writing, and the way I react to situations such as this. I have to get better control of my emotions, or I’m in for a lot of pain!

Do you handle stress well? What are some of your secrets?

The Accentuate Writers Forum is having a poetry contest. The winning poems will be featured in an anthology. The anthology has short stories from previous winners, and the poems will go in between stories and such.

The last short story contest winners will be announced soon. I’m nervous about that. Today they are announcing the semi-finalists. I hope I make it!

Anyway, if you are a poet or poetess and want your name in print, go give the contest a shot. If you win, you get 10.00 for the poem.

I’m entering a few myself just to see what happens. If I don’t keep trying, I’ll never win!

Go here for contest rules: http://www.accentuateservices.com/xmb/viewthread.php?tid=3161