BulgingButtons

Not bad for a fat girl

Category Archives: Writing


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Racing Toward Milestones

156330068-kids-running-with-ballons-gettyimagesNext week I will have been blogging for exactly one year. Holy cow! When I started writing BulgingButtons it was really for me, but I HOPED that someone, anyone really, would read it and chime in with a comment or two. Well, the good news is that you DO read it, and chime in often. I love reading your feedback and seeing where our experiences overlap, and where they differ.

It’s amazing to me that people from all over the globe (and I mean that quite literally) have stopped by and added their two cents to the conversation here at BulgingButtons. Sometimes we disagree, but more often we have similar experiences, and most of us are glad to know that we aren’t alone.

Soon there will be 1,000 people following this blog. That completely blows my mind. Yes, I know that not all 1,000 read every pearl of wisdom that finds its way into the blog, but that’s ok. There are still an awfully lot of you who do read and respond, and that just makes me happy beyond belief.

Have I reached my goals with the blog? Well, yes and no. Do I have a forum for sharing my ideas and a reason to write on a regular basis? Absolutely. Have I achieved my personal goals (aka the 47 for 47 challenge)? Hell no. Did I expect to? Not really, but if you don’t have any goals at all it’s harder to achieve anything. At least it is for me.

So far I’ve achieved almost a year of blogging and almost 1,000 followers. That blows me away, and I’m pretty tickled about both of those milestones.

Now the real life milestone. My house is supposed to close next Monday, so then I’ll officially be homeless. I do have a place to stay, thank goodness, and I’ve found a house I like. Tomorrow we’ll submit an offer and see what happens. Wish me luck. This is an incredibly stressful process, as many of you can attest to, and just not that much fun. It will all work out in the end though, it always does. Still, any positive energy you can send my way would be much appreciated.

And to those of you that have been around for a while, thank you so much for your encouragement. For those who have just found me, WELCOME! I hope you find this a safe, reasonably sane, and occasionally fun place to spend your time on the web.

Now which do you think we’ll hit first, one year or 1,000 followers? The race is on!


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Hummingbirds and Home Sales

Hummingbird-1Wednesday morning I was greeted by one of my favorite sights as I left home to teach my summer writing workshop. Just as I raised the garage door and prepared to enter the car, a hummingbird swooped into my yard for a long sip of nectar from one of my obliging plants.

I love those little guys. I love how they hover and dart about from place to place. I love their tiny bodies and their brilliant colors, and I love their impossibly long narrow beaks. I can’t help but smile when I see a hummingbird. I always feel as though they have chosen me personally to grace with their presence, and I take it as an honor.

I got in the car with my whole attitude changed. All of a sudden I was sure it was going to be a good day, and before I drove off I sent a text to my sweetheart saying so. He quickly fired one back stating that he was sure it would be too. I happily and safely drove off to campus, looking forward to the morning’s session with my  9 young writers. They have been a pleasure to work with because of their creativity and enthusiasm. I arrived on campus, and took the short walk to my classroom building, where I was greeted by… yes, another hummingbird. Wow, a two hummingbird morning. Life is good!hummingbird-male

The morning session went well and before long it was time for a break. When I glanced at my phone I saw a text message from my realtor. Really? He’s on vacation. In Hawai’i. It had to be something important. It was. It was an offer. A real offer from a real buyer.

So far everything seems to be moving forward. I don’t want to get too ahead of myself, but I do feel some pressure to find a new place soon. I feel good about the situation this time. Better than last time. I’m pretty sure it will all work out, because, after all, why would the hummingbirds lie?


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Happy June

I don’t have a cute alliteration for this month as it relates to selling my house. I guess “Just Buy It, Already!” is the closest I’ve got. People keep coming to look, but nobody wants to buy. Oh, someone did, but they cancelled their contract. Ugh. I know it’s a great house. I know it will sell eventually. Maybe even today.

On to other things for the month of June. Tomorrow I start teaching a writing workshop for students entering grades 4 to 8.  I have three boys and six girls. WriterI have been preparing lessons for them, hunting down YouTube videos of spoken word poets, gathering picture books to use as mentor texts, and generally stressing about how the whole thing will come together. Yesterday my family took a ride out to the site and we walked the campus, mapping out the relationships between the drop off site, the bathrooms, and the classroom. This is all important information. I’m really excited to start working with these young writers. I know we’re going to learn a lot from each other.

In other news, I’ve finally started exercising again! My pool has finally warmed up and with daily temperatures over 100 degrees I’m glad to get in it and get moving. Since I started Weight Watchers a month ago I’ve lost 15 pounds. This addition of exercise can only help that loss along. I’ve done Weight Watchers before, but this time they have something called “Smart Start” where you don’t start tracking and counting points right away. You start by eating certain foods that they refer to as power foods. It’s all common sense really. Eat fruits, vegetables, lean protein, non-fat dairy, whole grains, etc. It’s not that difficult, and there’s room for “indulgences,” the foods and beverages that make life worth living. This is what I’ve been doing, and it’s working for me, so I’m not switching over the all the crazy point counting as long as it keeps working.

I’m not down on the point counting, but for me it makes me focus way more on food and eating than I normally would. I tend to spend a lot of time thinking about how many points this or that food is, and how many points will I have left for the day after I eat something, and will I end up hungry? This way works better for me. At least so far.

The move into June has also brought into sharp focus the many items on the 47 for 47 challenge that I have yet to accomplish. The year is up on July 3, so I have just over a month to get in gear and see if I can knock a few more items off the list. I know it’s too late for some of them, but maybe I could sneak in a Zumba class in the next month? I have to revisit that list and see what I can get done.

What are your goals for June? In a nutshell mine are 1. Sell this house  2. Run a successful Writing Camp  3.  Continue to eat well  4. Continue to exercise  5. Write!  6. Revisit my 47 for 47 Challenge and complete a few more items.

In the meantime, please enjoy Sarah Kay, a remarkable Spoken Word poet. The video is about 18 minutes, as it’s a Ted Talk, but the poem is just the first three and a half minutes. I believe it is worth your time.