I Read Too Much

OK, I know you were all expecting "Day 3," rest assured it is coming...well, as soon as I figure out how to explain my day with only using shades of red as my adjectives...well...yeah. Anyhow, back to the free stuff.  Yes, I did say free ! So, the wickedly awesome people over at Influenster have this thing called a Vox Box.  (No this is not  a Dr. Suess type widget!)  What this is, is a box of goodies they put together based on surveys you take.  How it worked for me... This past May my friend posted on her FB a photo of the Vox Box of goodies she received from Influenster.  Naturally, the words FREE and GOODIES had me typing frantically on my keyboard to get to their site.  Super easy this whole process was.  I made a log in, took some surveys (you get badges for doing this, which was kind of like bringing back my inner Girl Scout), and waited.  Yeah, the waiting is the hardest part, but never fear there are lots and lots of bad...

I see him, in my mind's eye, sitting there at the kitchen table like every day before reading his newspaper, drinking his coffee, and smoking his Winston.  The radio is softly playing in the background, turned to some county station that I am sure no longer flows on the radio waves.  The faint smells from the pot of coffee brewed earlier in the morning, while the rest of the house slept peacefully.  The gentle hum of the fridge that was undoubtedly older than I was, at the time. The roll top desk nestled against the north facing wall, under the sliding window, the telephone hanging prominently on the wall to the right of it.  The desk surfaces covered in an organized chaos that only made sense to the one person who managed its contents, my grandpa. Grandpa was a good man, strong yet soft at the same time.  He loved us all, but I find a small bit of comfort in knowing him longest.  I also weep at that fact for it made many more memories to h...

I forewarned you that my "days" would not be literal; the fact I'm just now getting to day 1 is a good indication I was not wrong.  I didn't realize how hard this challenge was.  I mean, they seemed so easy when I was typing them in.  It is hard to unthink a "known" definition of a word.  In fact, I think it may even be easier to think of a new word altogether.  (This is something I actually do, or rather I combine random words and phrases to create utter strangeness, my bestie calls these mandyisms. I concur!) However, day 1 has been set, and the challenge I must complete.  I'm no quitter after all! There were so many words that I tossed around for this one.  In fact, while streaming the VP debate last night I actually wrote this post and had used the word - stress.  After the debate I reread it and realized that it wasn't a good representation of me or my writing, so I scrubbed it.  Perhaps because some would call it malark...

Do you have a hobby?  Why'd I ask, of course you do!  Everyone does actually, some just don't give it that definition.  I have several.  You can read my bio for the full list.  Out of them all, I'd have to say writing is my favorite, though it is the one I exercise the least.  Why?  It's hard.  It's one of those things you actually have to engage multiple parts of your person at once to make happen.  How?  Well, the brain...nah, not going to go there.  Seriously though, writing  IS hard.  This is something that leaves you a lot more vulnerable to critique than any other.  Granted you can keep it in, hidden in the journals that your loved ones generations down the line will stumble upon while cleaning out their attics, or you can be bold and put it out there where the world, should they so chose, to see.  Alas, I do both.  Today, the world won. One of my favorite new sites is Stumble Upon....