Countdown to writing madness

Holy moly it's November in only 37 more sleeps. That means only one thing: it's NANOWRIMO time. Why do I do it???? The sleepless nights, the RSI, the crying, the stream-of-consciousness nonsensical writing, the crawling through the desert on sand made of broken glass... why? Because at the end of it I end up with a manuscript!

TT2: 13 Ways to Say "I Do"

13 Ways to Say "I Do" After three years of studying and the application process, I have just received news that I'm officially a marriage celebrant... In honour of this, I've found 13 ways to exchange vows. 1... "Woof" (actually, these are bow-vows, exchanged by dogs) 2.... I, (groom), call upon the persons here present to witness that I take you, (bride) to be my lawful wife. 3... Through all of the uncertainties and trials of the present and future, I promise to be faithful to you and love you. I promise to guide and protect you, as long as we both shall live. 4... You are my best friend for life. I pledge to honour, encourage, and support you through our walk together. When our way becomes difficult, I promise to stand by you and uplift you, so that through our union we can accomplish more than we could alone. I promise to work at our love and always make you a priority in my life. With every beat of my heart, I will love you. This is my solemn vow. 5... As freely, (name), as Spirit inspires my life, I join my life with yours. Wherever you go, I will go; whatever you face, I will face. For good or ill, in happiness or sadness, come riches or poverty, I take you as my (husband/wife), and will give myself to no other. 6... The Eskimo Love Song goes... You are my husband, My feet shall run because of you, My feet dance because of you, My heart shall beat because of you, My eyes see because of you, My mind thinks because of you, And I shall love because of you. 7... Julia Roberts promised Lyle Lovett "I, Julia, in the presence of God and these witnesses, take you, Lyle, to be my husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, until death parts us, and I pledge you my faithfulness." (Marion, Indiana; June 27, 1993) 8... Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love's vows ended with the words EIA IHO NO, KA MALUHIA, O NA LANI, ME OUKOU A PAU (The peace and serenity of the heavens be with you all). And so it is ... Amen ... and ALOHA! (Waikiki, Hawaii; February 24, 1992) 9... I imagine this is what Chris Evert might say to Greg Norman: I Chris, take you, Sharky to be my lawfully wedded husband and chief tennis doubles partner, for when you win and when you miss that hole-in-one. I promise to love, honor, and cherish you, to return your serves and do my best not to foot fault. 10... Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston vowed to "...split the difference on the thermostat." 11... I'm busting for a couple to let me conduct the service using the Dr. Suess wedding vows. They start with me saying: "Will you answer me right now, These questions, as your wedding vow?" and the groom answering "Yes, I will answer right now, Your questions as my wedding vow." And so on..... for another 8 minutes! 12... Excerpt of Elvis Presley and Priscilla Beaulieu's vows (Las Vegas, Nevada; May 1, 1967): I, Elvis, take thee, Priscilla, to be my wedded wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish. 13... and finally, the vows that my husband and I exchanged in Las Vegas (yes, in front of Elvis): Him ~~~ It only took one night to get stuck on you, and now my wish came true, you big hunka hunka burnin' love! I thought you were nothin' but a hound dog, cryin' all the time, but now I know you're my teddy bear 'cause tigers play too rough and lions ain't the kind you love enough. So kiss me quick and love me tender for I can't help falling in love with you. Me ~~~ It took a hard headed woman to make me king of the whole wide world. I thought you were the devil in disguise but you turned out to be my puppet on a string. I used to live in the hotel down the end of lonely street but now it's viva las vegas 'cause I need your love tonight. Post script: Yes, I do weddings!

Paydirt

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If you were to look up "paydirt" in the dictionary, I reckon you'd find a photo of this lady...

My goodness this photo had me cracking up today. I found it at Sexy Old Broad's blog, and of course I'm thankful for that!

13 Ways to Sparkle

13 Ways to Sparkle In honour of the birthday theme I've decided on ("sparkles"), here are 13 ideas for "how to sparkle" that I'm giving my invitees... 1.... Drink sparkles (aka bubbly) 2.... Wear sparkles (another excuse to give that sequin dress from the 80s another go) 3.... Don a tiara 4.... Speak sparkles (add glitter to your words) 5.... Eat sparkles (fairy bread?) 6.... Behave sparkly (make it your code of conduct) 7.... Make sparkles your middle name 8.... Infect others with your sparkly laugh 9.... Carry a magic wand 10... Sprinkle sparkles wherever you walk 11... Open your eyes (yes, let them sparkle) 12... Wear bling on your fingers 13... And bling on your toes (as for the rest, anything goes!)

Tickled Pink by Tink

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Just as I was getting into the old funk about turning 40 (I'm sure I'm not the first!), I landed in a magical journal by a Dutch witch called Tinkerbell. Her "Thursday Thirteen" list of quotes for her own 40th birthday had me giggling and returning to a space of joy.

In particular I enjoyed Audrey Hepburn's quote Success is like reaching an important birthday and finding you're exactly the same. Too true.

As a result, I have perked up and decided on a theme for my 40th birthday in October that will send the message "I may be 40 but I'm still the same"... SPARKLES.

This is the only drink I'll have on the menu, the only behavior I'll expect, and the only dress-code I'll accept. As in,

* Signature drink: Sparkles
* Code of conduct: Sparkles
* Dress-code: Sparkles

Think of it as sparkle in, sparkle out, sparkle ON!

Thanks Tink for the pick-me-up :-)
xx
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Creation amongst the chaos

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Today I was thankful to read on Candace's CAW Creations blog, "I am awash in a sea of beads and wire and lost findings!! I have no method of organization for my supplies other than cardboard boxes and some plastic containers. And I hate it!!"

It's not that I'm into freudenschade behavior... it's just that I'm a little jealous. Candace admits to being totally disorganized but then comes up with stunning creations like this!

Thanks for the inspiration Candace :-) Now when I get to my desk each morning I won't procrastinate by tidying my desk -- I'll just jump in amongst the mess and see what beautiful things I can create amongst chaos also ;-)
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Birds of a feather?

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I spent last weekend at the Taronga Zoo in Sydney. I was fortunate to get a seat in the stands for the bird show (which I reckon is of world-class standard). About half-way through, a squadron of jets flew overhead. The commentator didn't miss a beat and incorporated them into the show, making us all look up and notice their wing-span as compared to the wedge-tailed eagle that was entertaining us. Funny!